Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
10th Report – Discrimination, harassment and abuse against Muslim women
Women and Equalities Committee
HC 571
Published 30 January 2026
Recommendations
11
Deferred
Implement Law Commission’s recommendations on improving hate crime legislation in the next parliamentary session.
Recommendation
The Government should implement the Law Commission’s recommendations on improving hate crime legislation in the next Session of this Parliament. (Recommendation, Paragraph 68) Discrimination in public life
Government Response Summary
The government is considering the Law Commission's recommendations, has taken some steps, and commissioned an independent review due to report by spring 2026, at which point the Home Secretary will consider the findings.
Government Equalities Office
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13
Deferred
Consider expanding section 14 of the Equality Act to protect more than two characteristics.
Recommendation
We welcome the Government’s commitment to introducing section 14 of the Equality Act 2010 and the protection it will offer to groups with two protected characteristics. Given that Muslim women may be discriminated against on the basis of their sex, …
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Government Response Summary
The government defers to the Equality law call for evidence from April 2025, which sought evidence and views to identify barriers to opportunity and seek expert views on how to overcome these barriers, including on how to strengthen protections against dual discrimination, and will confirm next steps after considering the responses.
Government Equalities Office
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17
Deferred
Provide key statistics on income and employment by religious affiliation, gender, and ethnic group.
Recommendation
The Government should provide the key statistics on income and employment by religious affiliation and gender as well as by ethnic group in order that ongoing intersectional inequalities can be fully understood and addressed. This includes the statistics provided through …
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Government Response Summary
While acknowledging the importance of the issue, the government defers to census data and the ONS's work on the Future of Population and Migration statistics to better understand the feasibility of providing religion data between censuses.
Government Equalities Office
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Conclusions (2)
10
Conclusion
Deferred
Implementing the recommendations set out in the Law Commission’s Hate Crime Laws: Final Report could improve the ability of the police and Crown Prosecution Service to tackle hate crime, including intersectional hate crime. Such reforms would also signal support to communities affected by intersectional hate crime and encourage broader initiatives …
Government Response Summary
The government is considering the Law Commission's recommendations, has taken some steps, and commissioned an independent review due to report by spring 2026, at which point the Home Secretary will consider the findings.
18
Conclusion
Deferred
It is deeply saddening that Muslim women working in frontline services such as healthcare settings are having to endure anti-Muslim abuse while performing their duties in helping others. Reports of a lack of support from colleagues and employers are also troubling. Anti-Muslim discrimination, harassment and abuse can have lasting mental …
Government Response Summary
The government states NHS organisations have a duty to protect staff, and plan to introduce new standards for modern employment in April 2026 which are likely to focus on improving staff health and wellbeing, violence, racism and sexual harassment.