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The New Silencing: Women, Politics and the Rise of the Manosphere

History &
Social Policy

What does it really mean for women to be heard in 2026?

When the MeToo movement ignited in 2017, many believed it would be a turning point for women after which positive change would become inevitable. And for a brief time, it felt like the world was finally listening to women’s voices.

But in 2026, that promise feels fragile. The rise of the manosphere, escalating violence against women and girls, and the weaponisation of social media have made speaking out more dangerous, more exhausting and more necessary than ever. Far from moving forward, in many ways it can feel like society’s attitudes towards women are going backwards.

I|n June 2026 Intelligence Squared brought together a panel of voices to discuss the new threats facing women in modern culture. Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, writer and social historian Juliet Nicolson, and BAFTA award-winning actor Joanna Scanlan joined host BBC News editor Katie Razzall to ask: what does it really mean for women to be heard in 2026?

Speaker

  • Juliet Nicolson

    Journalist and author. Her latest book is The Book of Revelations: Women and Their Secrets From the 1950s to the Present Day

  • Joanna Scanlan

    BAFTA award winning actor and writer

  • Jess Phillips

    Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls

Host

  • Katie Razzall

    Culture and Media editor at BBC News

Speakers

Speaker

Juliet Nicolson

Journalist and author. Her latest book is The Book of Revelations: Women and Their Secrets From the 1950s to the Present Day

Author of several best-sellers including 'The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm', Radio 4's Book of the Week and Frostquake: How the frozen winter of 1962 changed Britain forever, she writes for the Times, the Spectator and Harpers Bazaar magazine and her latest book is The Book of Revelations: Women and Their Secrets From the 1950s to the Present Day

Joanna Scanlan

BAFTA award winning actor and writer

Actor and writer. On television, she is known for her roles in The Thick of It, Big School, Puppy Love, No Offence, Requiem, The Larkins, and Riot Women. She was nominated for three BAFTA TV Awards for Getting On, including two for Best Writing.

Jess Phillips

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls

Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls since July 2024. Before becoming an MP, she worked with victims of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking, and she continues to speak up on behalf of those who struggle to have their voice heard. Jess lives with her husband and two sons in Birmingham, where she was born and raised.
Host

Katie Razzall

Culture and Media editor at BBC News

Katie Razzall is an award-winning, Bafta-nominated journalist who is Culture and Media editor at BBC News. She co-presents Radio 4’s The Media Show and is a regular BBC Newsnight host.  In her current role she’s interviewed some of the biggest names in culture, media and tech including Yulia Navalnaya, David Hockney, Bill Gates and Dame Anna Wintour. As UK Editor at Newsnight, she reported on the Grenfell Tower fire, how Covid hit a chain of care homes and about Britain’s unregistered children’s homes. She was previously a reporter and presenter at Channel 4 News.