The counterterrorism strategy ‘Prevent’ and Post-16 Education

• In Event: EXTR3 Threat landscape and counter-terrorism2

Abstract

There is existing, extensive attention on the effects of counterterrorism policy on the Muslim population. This paper goes further by providing an analysis of the intersectionality of religion, race, gender identity and the effects of counterterrorism policy, namely ‘Prevent’. I focus upon understanding young Muslim women’s experiences concerning the United Kingdom’s counterterrorism strategy Prevent, with a theoretical framework of Critical Race Feminism. This research thus demonstrates the UK government’s incorporation of Muslim women into countering violent extremism policies and how this aids the Prevent strategy’s wider acceptance and legitimacy within society, whilst also categorising Muslim women as a tool in deradicalization. I directly address the gap between feminist research and the lived experiences of Prevent for young Muslim women in post-16 education. This is achieved by drawing upon the qualitative experiences of young Muslim women in further and higher education in the UK. Through an empirical exploration of the focus group and interview data concerning the entanglement of Muslim women within Prevent, this study is one of the first to offer insights into Muslim women’s feelings surrounding how Prevent operates within the UK’s post-16 education sector. To aid this exploration, Critical Race Feminism is used as a theoretical framework to advance the discussion of intersectionality within this paper. Within the data collected, certain themes are evident such as: the self-censoring of students; the responsibilisation of Muslim women; gendered Islamophobia; and the reluctance to report to the Prevent strategy. The findings of this research demonstrate that there is a gendered impact of the Prevent strategy within the UK’s post-16 education sector and this occurs through different avenues. Accordingly, this paper should be added to the context of debate about the future of Prevent (if any) particularly within the education sector, and to existing work that discusses the securitisation of racialised people.

Author

• Lilly Barker, Nottingham Trent Univeristy