Our Expert Views
Rich, readable blogs from our experts who work among the community, in academia and research on new developments in Prevent and their real impact on people.
The People's Review of Prevent
The People’s Review of Prevent is an alternative review to the Government Shawcross Review.
This review provides a voice to the people most impacted by the Prevent Duty.
Prevent is described as ‘safeguarding’ children from harms. However, under Prevent, safeguarding is focused on protecting the wider public from children believed to be ‘risky’, rather than protecting children from harms.
Throughout our report we present case studies that show how real these harms can be and the distress they cause to children and their families and carers.
We're told that the independent review of Prevent led by William Shawcross is due soon, so here are a few important reminders...
We assert the need for a new notion of “British values” that suits the universal character of our population in this excerpt from the People’s Review of Prevent...
The Prevent strategy of the UK's counter-extremism policy is out of step with the realities of British society, and its placing of religious communities of belonging under suspicion is counter-productive to genuine, long-term social...
An excerpt from the People's Review of Prevent, on the Prevent strategy and children's rights, data collection, bogus claims of ‘success’ and why Prevent must be delinked from Manchester...
The UK's Prevent counter-extremism strategy involves data collection and retention that makes it a vast form of surveillance that can remain with a person for life, even when that person is a child...
Following the Trojan Horse Affair in Birmingham and the collapse of the Department of Education's attempt to ban teachers under claims that they had an Islamist agenda, the 2015 version of Prevent, the UK government's counter extremism...
Recently, Prevent Watch spoke about Prevent to parents who had gathered to discuss changes in the school curriculum with regards RSE...
The claim to target the far-right was a red herring to bring Muslims on board with the Prevent policy in the UK. Now, the government is saying that to target the far-right would be to police “mainstream” views shared by many in government...
Pro-Prevent lobby groups are currently arguing that the focus of Prevent should be redirected toward Islamism and away from the far-right, but is this just an excuse to play down their far-right agenda? The argument that Prevent is...
Ramadan Reflection: A mother’s courage and forgiveness meant more people got support against Prevent
After last week’s newsletter, many of you asked to hear about more of our cases. Some of these cases still make me reflect today, not only because of what happened, but because of the lessons they teach. This week, I want to share one of my...
Several months ago, I was contacted by a mother whose daughter had been excluded from school and referred to Prevent for saying “Free Palestine”. This is just one of many cases we see at Prevent Watch, some of which include young children...