Matt Dryden

It’s time to take Britain’s Incel terror threat seriously

Wojak, a meme character used by Incels

Far-right and Islamist extremism are both cause for concern in Britain today. But there’s another threat which all too often slips under the radar. 

Referrals to the UK government’s Prevent programme in 2019/20 presenting a ‘Mixed, Unstable or Unclear’ ideology accounted for 51 per cent of all referrals ‒ up from just 11 per cent in 2016/17. This represents a significant rise for the third consecutive year. Despite this, emerging ideologies – especially Inceldom – still aren’t receiving the attention they warrant.

The term ‘Mixed, Unstable and Unclear’ describes instances where individuals exhibit a combination of elements from multiple ideologies (mixed); shift between different ideologies (unstable); or where there appears to be no fixed or coherent ideology, yet may still pose a terrorism risk (unclear). 

Counter-Terrorism Policing’s National Prevent Coordinator, Chief Superintendent Nik Adams has described how ‘Mixed, Unstable and Unclear’ ideologies often manifest as: 

The Incel ideology must be seen for what it is

‘A fascination with all types of extremist or violent content, including school shootings or even extreme misogyny ideologies such as Inceldom’.

The Involuntary Celibates (Incel) ideology has become increasingly prevalent within the ‘Mixed’ element of ‘Mixed, Unstable and Unclear’ ideologies. Incels are considered the most extreme component part of the wider ‘Manosphere’ ‒ a broad decentralised network of websites, chat rooms and gaming platforms oriented around misogyny and opposition to feminism. 

Incels blame women and society as a whole for their inability to find romantic partners. They believe they have a right to women and sex, and that by rejecting them, women are committing ‘reverse rape’.

Elliot Rodger remains the ‘poster boy’ for vast swathes of the Incel movement. Rodger, 22, killed six people in a gun and knife attack in Isla Vista, California in May 2014, before fatally shooting himself.

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