PM Keir Starmer Must Retract Defamatory and False Statements Made about Adolescent Boys

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Henry Herrera
Phone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: info@endtodv.org

PM Keir Starmer Must Retract Defamatory and False Statements Made about Adolescent Boys

March 21, 2025 – MP Anneliese Midgley stood up in Parliament on Wednesday to comment on the recent Netflix show, “Adolescence,” a TV drama about knife attacks committed by adolescent boys. Midgley called on Prime Minister Starmer to support the TV program in order to “counter toxic misogyny.”

In response, Starmer agreed, referring to the make-believe film as a “very good documentary,” claiming that adolescent knife attacks are an “emerging and growing problem.” (1)

Unfortunately, every statement that Starmer and Midgley made to the Members of Parliament represents a profound misrepresentation of the truth:

The great majority of knife incidents in the UK involves adults. Adolescents between the ages of 10 and 17 represent only 17% of knife attack perpetrators (2).
No evidence supports PM Starmer’s claim that knife attacks are an “emerging and growing problem” in the UK. The overall number of knife offenses have remained steady in the last several years, with the number actually decreasing since the year ending March 2022, according to UK Official Statistics (3).
There is no evidence of widespread “toxic misogyny” in the UK, or anywhere else. Some observers believe that anti-male misandry is more prevalent in society than anti-female misogyny (4), as revealed by the disturbing number of feminists who issue hateful calls to “Kill All Men.” (5)
Girls account for a growing number of knife cases in the UK, accounting for one-fifth of all arrestees (6). The media recently reported on the knife attack by Natalie Bennett, who fatally stabbed her partner, Kasey Anderson, in the heart (7).

In short, Adolescence must be seen more as a cinegraphic fantasy, not anything that resembles a “documentary.”

The parliamentary exchange was sharply criticized. According to Sean Parker of Empowering The Innocent, “works of fiction, starring ‘national treasure’ actors such as Stephen Graham, are either explicitly made to support the Violence Against Women and Girls narrative, or can be spun into being made so by a captured mainstream media.”

Another observe noted, “’Adolescence’ isn’t real. It’s fake. It’s actors did a dramatization of events that aren’t even based on some type of reality…Peoples’ entire vision of life…is based on films they’ve watched and TV programs.” (8)

In short, the recent comments represent a crass example of political propaganda, rather than anything that offers any semblance of reality.

MP Keir Starmer must retract and apologize for his false and defamatory statements about adolescent boys.

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 181 member organizations from 37 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/coalitions/davia/

Links: