This report into child removal under accusations of “extremism” and “radicalisation” was published by CAGE in October 2018, and documents that the Prevent counter-extremism strategy is being used in UK family courts.
The report argues that the removal of children – particularly Muslim children – from their families is being done using an unreliable and highly subjective method of measuring “extremism” and “radicalisation”, themselves subjective terms that have not been adequately defined.
The report references the ERG22+, the tool that the UK government uses to derive “indicators of extremism”, which has been academically challenged, and is deemed to be flawed.
However, this ERG 22+ has been implemented since 2011, without much critical engagement by the courts, and particularly in cases determining the removal of children.
The report into the use of Prevent in child removal cases cites a number of real cases that make concerning reading in relation to the impact of the Prevent strategy on children and families especially, and calls for further research.
You can read the full report online, HERE.
Related Resources
- The People’s Review of Prevent (Report, 2022)
- The Flawed ‘Science’ Underpinning Prevent: the Secretive ERG22+ Study (Report, 2016).
