This article contains references to rape, murder and male violence against women.
Kyle Clifford, 26, murdered Louise Hunt, 25, her sister Hannah Hunt, 28, and their mother Carol Hunt, 61, last July. Yesterday, he was found guilty of raping Louise, following a four-day trial at Cambridge Crown Court. He pleaded guilty to the murders on 22 January 2025.
During the hearing on Thursday 6 March, the court heard that Clifford, a former soldier, watched videos of Andrew Tate just 24 hours before carrying out the murders, it can now be reported. Alison Morgan KC highlighted the connection between the search for Tate’s podcast, the murders, and the rape of Louise, stating: “It’s misogynistic, trying to control Louise Hunt in the context of a final act of spite. You can see how the mind was working.”
Mr Justice Bennathan ruled the jury at Cambridge Crown Court could not hear evidence about the killer’s Tate searches, calling it “deeply prejudicial” to the rape trial, as Tate was “almost a poster boy for misogynists.” The judge noted: “In conversation with an acquaintance, the defendant made reference to watching an Andrew Tate video” and was viewing Tate’s content the day before the murders and alleged rape.
I personally do not find this news surprising, having worked and reported on male violence against women and girls and the ever-growing threat of misogyny fuelled by social media and the far-right. However, the highlighting of this link in court is significant, and we must all pay attention, and now turn our focus to prevention.
Men are also twice as likely as women to say feminism has gone too far.
In July, the reporting around the murders of Louise, Hannah and Carol was, at best, disappointing, and at worst, harmfully fuelling false narratives that feed into victim-blaming and a lack of accountability. Dozens of outlets focused on the fact Kyle used a crossbow to carry out these murders, many others focused on Carol’s husband and the daughters’ father (John Hunt), rather than them.
I remember reading an entire news article that did not name Louise or Hannah. This reporting was irresponsible, because it implied that crossbows were the problem, not misogynistic gendered violence. Focusing on John Hunt was further dehumanising to the three women murdered, and signalled that their deaths were not the significant part of this awful case.
Andrew Tate is fuelling misogyny to millions of people across the world. In 2023, a report found that one in six boys aged 6-15 have a positive view of Andrew Tate. Tate is a self-proclaimed misogynist, something he wears as a badge of honour - to list all of the awful, degrading, problematic things he has not only said, but done, to women would take days.
Currently, Tate, alongside his brother Tristan Tate, are facing criminal proceedings in both Romania and the UK, on charges such as human trafficking and rape. The brothers “unequivocally deny” this. Many people will question the extent of Tate’s influence, and although Clifford is responsible for his own actions - this is not an attempt to absolve or explain - we cannot pretend that male violence against women and girls appears in a vacuum. Tate has, for example, said the following: “Bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up bitch.” This comment was about ‘when your girlfriend asks if you’re cheating’.
The fourth woman to accuse Tate of sexual violence shares her story.
Despite facing charges in the UK, the government has been slow to act. Victims and survivors of Andrew Tate via Crowd Justice have responded to the news today, writing “this should be a wake-up call for all the social media companies who are continuing to platform Tate and his dangerous messages. These companies should take immediate steps to remove Andrew Tate from their platforms, rather than continue to reap enormous profits from his hateful content.” The campaigners want to bring Tate to justice in the UK for his alleged crimes, and hold the UK authorities to account for their failure to bring Tate to justice in 2019.
While the campaigns to bring Tate to justice in the UK are worthy, we must also focus on prevention – how can we stop other young men being radicalised, like Clifford was? How can we counteract and cushion the impact of men like Andrew Tate with positive role models?
Beyond Equality, a charity which focuses on the need to engage all men in preventing gender-based violence and creating communities that are safe for everyone, is working tirelessly on this. They have recently launched the campaign See What She Sees, which aims to get men to understand the way women experience everyday situations.
Daniel Guinness, Managing Director of Beyond Equality, told GLAMOUR: “If we are serious about building a safer society for women, prevention must be a priority. Too often, we only focus on reacting to harm rather than tackling the root causes. The rise of figures like Andrew Tate shows how easily misogynistic narratives take hold when young men aren’t given the tools to critically engage with harmful ideas about masculinity and online misogyny, and the support to develop a sense of belonging and healthy relationships based on respect.”
He added: “The See What She Sees campaign highlights how differently men and women experience everyday situations, experiences that many men have never had to consider. Our latest research shows that 90% of women believe men need to take more responsibility in calling out inappropriate behaviour, and 95% of men agree. That’s a clear signal that the appetite for change is there. But change won’t happen without proper investment in education, community programmes, and policies that dismantle the conditions in which harmful attitudes thrive.”
As the likes of Nigel Farage and Andrew Tate tussle for power, many of us are increasingly concerned about the rise of the right.
On Wednesday, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey asked Sir Keir Starmer whether the government would intervene. The influencers, who are originally from Luton, travelled to Florida from Romania last week after their travel ban was lifted. Sir Keir said he would “tread carefully” but added: “Justice must be done in all cases, including in this case.”
Just this week, an annual survey by Ipsos for International Women’s Day (8 March) reported that nearly half of Britons (47%) say that when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough and that we have gone so far in promoting women’s equality, men are now being discriminated against.
Six in 10 Gen Z men agree that men are being expected to do too much to support equality. The statistics are more than just numbers, they signal how deep misogyny is running in the UK, and how little is being done to educate around combating gendered violence, or the benefits of allyship and feminism.
There are pushes for change coming. The Government has pledged to protect more women from violence ahead of International Women’s Day. Following the toxic influence we have seen on and offline from misogynistic figures, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), Jess Phillips, also pledged that the government’s milestone VAWG Strategy, expected to be published in the summer, will include actions specifically addressing the root causes of abuse – including underlying behaviours held by some men and boys.
Minister Jess Phillips said: “The statistics show that a woman is killed [by a man] in the UK on average every three days – a number that is unacceptably high…The government’s commitment to halving violence against women and girls in a decade is not an abstract goal – it is a top priority.”
With this latest news, there is no time for treading carefully. Gendered violence is an epidemic, and with the rising wave of misogynistic influencers who are showing no signs of slowing down, it is vital that the government does more – both in bringing Andrew Tate to justice, and by investing in prevention.
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