This landmark fact sheet on the Prevent strategy was put together in May 2016 and was one of the first to explain what Prevent is, how it is harmful, how it divides people, and its relationship to Channel.
Aimed at activists and students and authored by Stand up to Racism, the document mentions how proponents of the Prevent strategy claim to support free discussion, while support for Palestine, or identifying innocent victims of war in the Middle East are seen as signs of “grievance justification”, and indicators of “extremism”.
It also records that some of the first advocates against the Prevent strategy included Baroness Ruth Lister and Karen Armstrong OBE who, in a joint statement signed in 2015 by 280 academics and published in The Independent, observed: “Prevent will have a chilling effect on open debate, free speech and political dissent.”
They concluded that by suppressing discussion “Prevent will make us less safe”.
The document also notes that Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent with the Metropolitan police called Prevent “a toxic brand”, which was also reported by The Guardian.
You can download the fact sheet HERE.
Related Resources
- Browse all our Resources for updated research on counter-extremism in education.
- Counter Extremism and Censorship: Dealing with Prevent–Related Pressure (Statements and Briefs, 2018)
- Prevent and Counter-Extremism as Counter-Insurgency (Journal Article, 2017)
