Rape charities want Andrew Tate banned from TikTok

Rape and domestic abuse charities are calling for Andrew Tate to be banned from TikTok.

Tate, 35, has risen in popularity for his offensive rhetoric that encourages men and boys to treat women and girls poorly. Tate, a former kickboxer, racks up hundreds of thousands of views every day.

Using disparaging words for women like 'hoes', 'b****es', 'wh***s' and more, Tate encourages men to engage in abusive and misogynistic behavior.

At the height of the MeToo movement in 2017, Tate tweeted saying rape victims must 'bear some responsibility' for being raped.

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The former kickboxer also had allegations of human trafficking tied to him after a woman reportedly claimed to have been held at the house against her will.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, several organizations spoke out against Tate's messaging and explained how it can make rape and sexual violence culture worse.

"'These videos are a clear example of rape culture, where rape and sexual violence are minimised and survivors are blamed for crimes committed against them." Amelia Handy, policy lead at Rape Crisis England and Wales told The Daily Mail.

Handy said it is 'deeply concerning' that young people are able to view Tate's content that 'makes sexual abuse seem normal'.

"TikTok has a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its users: by allowing these videos on their platform they are failing to protect the millions of young people who use their app," Handy added.

Zainab Gulamali, policy and public affairs manager at Women’s Aid, echoed Handy's comments adding that "this normalises the misogynistic and sexist attitudes which are at the root of all violence against women and girls."

'We know that violence against women and girls is a spectrum, running from sexist comments and ‘banter’, right through to horrifically violent crimes and murder. It is vital that we all challenge these deep-rooted misogynistic attitudes, which normalise women being emotionally abused, belittled, and controlled, as well as physically harmed."

Other people are calling on TikTok to ban Tate just as Twitter has.

Tate has several Twitter accounts, all of which have been banned, for violating Twitter's rules.

Other domestic violence organizations like White Ribbon agreed that having Tate's messaging available to people normalises violence against women and girls.

"'Men and boys regularly watching and listening to negative presentations of masculinity may begin to adopt these attitudes and behaviours, believing that they are acting as the "ideal man", a spokesperson for White Ribbon told Daily Mail.

According to the article, a spokesperson for TikTok said they were working to review the content and "take action against violations of our guidelines".

"‘Misogyny and other hateful ideologies and behaviours are not tolerated on TikTok", the spokesperson said. "We continually look to strengthen our policies and enforcement strategies, including adding more safeguards to our recommendation system, as part of our work to keep TikTok a safe and inclusive space for our community."

We reached out to Tate for comment.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, you can call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247, or visit their website here.

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