This summer has once again been marked by far-right, racist and xenophobic hate, with anti-immigration protests and disorder erupting in places such as Essex, North London, Warwickshire and Norfolk. The unrest comes a year after the 2024 racist riots, which followed the tragic mass stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in Southport on 29 July 2024. False claims spread by far-right groups – alleging the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker – fuelled an eruption of Islamophobic, racist and anti-immigrant violence across the UK. Those riots became the largest incident of social unrest in England since 2011, involving racist attacks, arson and looting, with thousands arrested and over a thousand charges brought by mid-2025.
Now, tensions are once again being stoked by inflammatory comments from right-wing politicians (like Rupert Lowe and Nigel Farage) and media outlets. Migrant hotels, a legacy of the Conservative government’s mishandling of the asylum system, remain a flashpoint. Since the pandemic, these hotels have been used to house asylum seekers for months on end in overcrowded, poor-quality conditions. While private contractors profit from these arrangements, the prolonged limbo has become both a humanitarian concern and a rallying point for far-right agitation.
Wrapped into all this has been the far-right’s weaponisation of gender-based violence, often under the guise of ‘protecting’ women and girls from migrants. Over the weekend, activists gathered in Nuneaton to protest the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl, for which two men, reportedly Afghan asylum seekers, have been charged. Protesters could be heard chanting “send them home” and “we want our country back”, according to The Guardian.
And, of course, there's the grim irony that some of those shouting ‘protect our women’ are indeed violent to the women in their own lives. Data obtained by The Guardian shows that two out of every five people arrested after participating in last summer’s riots had been previously reported to the police for domestic abuse.
Here, GLAMOUR speaks to three women from areas that have experienced anti-immigration protests or racist rioting, on how they feel about these disorders being done under the guise of ‘protecting women’.
On 9 June 2025, violent riots erupted in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, fuelled by far-right and racist sentiment. The unrest began shortly after a peaceful protest was held in support of the family of a girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted. Two 14-year-old boys were charged with attempted rape, with the charges read in court by a Romanian interpreter. A third person, a 28-year-old man, was also arrested that evening but later released on unconditional bail.
I have lived in Ballymena since I was around five years old. Even before protests began, there was this continuous unrest within the community. I feel it is important to note that Ballymena is a heavily Protestant Unionist town, so a lot of our community is very conservative in their views – this is further reflected in the MP for our area, Jim Allister (TUV), who has made his views on topics such as immigration very clear.
When I first heard about these protests, I felt anger at how many were campaigning for 'protecting women' while setting fire to bins in the middle of roads, throwing bricks through windows, and causing major disruption across streets. A lot of these violent protests were run by men who were using the ruse of 'protecting women' as a smokescreen to showcase their xenophobia, and it angered me. If they cared about women, they would be holding their own politicians to account, holding their male friends and family to account, and advocating for improved sex and relationship education within schools.
Even now, as you drive through the streets where these protests took place, windows are boarded up by wooden pallets and signs of 'LOCALS LIVE HERE' are plastered on doors. It is a disgusting display of xenophobia, which our politicians have done nothing to resolve, except fuel the fire even more.
I have seen signs of “We are not racists, just concerned parents”, yet where is this enthusiasm and outrage whenever it is one of your neighbours? If there is one change I want, it would be for everyone who was out protesting to hold this same level of rage against any convicted rapist, murderer or assaulter, no matter their ethnicity, age or religious identity.
I feel as though little has been done to ask the women who do live in Ballymena and in Northern Ireland as a whole what they would like to be done to improve the wellbeing and lives of women across the country. We have had many murders of women, especially in recent years, with most being done by local men whom these women have been married to or have known. It's disappointing to see Northern Ireland falling so far behind the rest of the UK in terms of progression for women's rights, and we are using scapegoats to blame this on rather than holding our government and politicians to account.
Statistically, Northern Ireland is one of the most dangerous countries in Europe to be a woman, and so much more needs to be done than blaming those who were not born here. Drastic reform is necessary, and sadly, our country is too focused on issues of sectarianism and division when we should be uniting to deal with issues of misogyny and racism, which are rife in the country. I hope that someday, our women will feel safer in our streets, those who have done wrong will be rightly prosecuted, and the country will become a more welcoming place.
Violence broke out from a large group gathered outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Knowsley on 10 February 2023, with the crowd chanting “get them out.” Seven men were jailed for violent disorder after their involvement in “racially aggravated” trouble. Rocks, fireworks and other missiles were thrown at the police cordon formed at the scene. The court saw how a police carrier van was damaged and set on fire after the group had stolen riot shields, helmets and personal property.
Here, Heather tells GLAMOUR about the impact on her community:
I’ve lived in Knowsley Village for the past 17 years. The atmosphere hasn’t changed much since the riots, to be honest. The riots were mainly caused by people from outside the area. Things have since settled down – the hotel has reopened and is operating as normal again. I was shocked and disgusted when I first heard about the riots at the hotel. There were so many rumours going around with no solid evidence, and it was hard to know what was true. I believe the situation should have been handled by the police, not by people taking matters into their own hands.
As a woman, I’ve felt like my gender has been used in political conversations without anyone actually asking how I feel. During the protests, there was a lot of talk about ‘protecting our women,’ which made it seem like all women here were scared or in danger, but that’s not how I felt at all. I never felt unsafe around the migrants. It felt like people were using my gender to justify their own opinions or actions, without speaking to women like me directly.
One thing that rarely gets talked about is what happened to the migrants after the riots. There’s been no real follow-up or public information about them, and their side of the story seems to have been forgotten. I’ve never felt unsafe around the migrants in the area. Most of what I’ve heard has just been gossip, without any real proof. Slogans like that make it seem like these men are automatically a threat, when many are just trying to build a better life. It feels like people are making assumptions instead of looking at the full picture.
On Sunday, 4 August 2024, outside the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, South Yorkshire, anti-immigration riots broke out. The chaos resulted in several injuries to police officers and caused an estimated £1 million in damage.
Theresa, who has lived in the area for 22 years, tells GLAMOUR about how myths of ‘protecting our women and children’ made her feel in the wake of the disorder:
I’ve lived in Wath-upon-Dearne for 22 years now. The atmosphere in the area has gradually calmed since the protest. There was still a lot of bad feeling initially due to the sentences that were passed – locally, a lot of people felt they were unduly harsh – but that seems to have calmed now too.
Anger was my immediate reaction to the riots. Anger at the danger, anger that people felt they were justified in behaving the way they did. I felt, and still feel, that whatever view you hold on any given situation, it isn’t justified to attack property or people. It isn’t okay to set things on fire, to throw missiles, or to roam residential properties causing damage and destruction. It’s not right to impose and instil fear in people working and living locally.
People, predominantly men, were adamant that they were ‘taking a stand against the migrants’ because there had allegedly been an increase in assaults locally by men perceived to not be ‘local’. Everyone knew the hotel was being used to house migrants, and they were all men (as far as I’m aware and had seen). Locally, there had been a lot of talk about how people felt it wasn’t right or safe for women and children who live here. I don’t think enough was done by the council, councillors or police to calm those fears or provide accurate data to either correct or negate those opinions.
Then, when the murders occurred at Southport, the floodgates seemed to open. At that point, public fear was at an all-time high, and because there was no one, nationally or locally, who was willing to talk to people, give reasons and explanations, or even correct the misinformation, people decided to take matters into their own hands. To say it was to protect ‘women and children’ was, in my opinion, disingenuous. Children must always be protected from any perceived danger, but to claim that risks are solely from migrants is woefully incorrect.
Additionally, why did anyone think women needed protecting? As a woman and a mother, I am more than capable of protecting myself and my children. I don’t believe women need to be kept or looked after. I believe that’s an old-fashioned view from a time when women were seen as lesser and weaker. Women have proven time and time again, over decades and centuries, just how capable they are, how strong and resilient they are. So to attack a hotel and the police in the name of ‘protection’ was an excuse, pure and simple. No one needed to attack anyone in my name.
What happened to the migrants? Were there just men in the hotel, or were there families there too? Did they come here to settle, for a better life? Were they fleeing war and persecution?
But also, doesn’t anyone look at the parallels? Where has hate ever got anyone? What riot has ever solved anything? Anti-Jewish riots happened before the Second World War (and many, many times before that). Did the riots change anything? Did the war? People don’t look closely enough to see the similarities. They just want to tell you why they’re justified. They don’t want to listen or learn, they just want to correct and spread misinformation.
Ask the right questions and demand the right answers from the right people: politicians, councillors, the police. Don’t just attack and use ‘protecting women and children’ as an excuse for violence, hatred and intolerance – and expect me, a woman, to think that’s okay.
It’s been six months since Labour came into power, and we're still waiting to see how things will change for women and girls.
