Radicalisation

Radicalisation is the process of converting someone to more extreme, often violent, political, social or religious ideas. Radicalisation is also known as extremism and is a prioritised issue in the current political climate. It is the duty of those responsible for anti-terrorism to provide information to prevent this.

There are many different things to be radicalised against, a current issue is radicalisation against members of the LGBT community, for example, lesbian couples being attacked due to their refusal of kissing in public for the entertainment of others. Due to the frequency of similar attacks members of the LGBT community prefer the term “same sex” over “homosexual” due to the negative connotations because of those with extremist views using “homosexual” as a slur against the LGBT community.

Another form of radicalisation is to seek revenge against a community or government. An example of this is the destruction of government and federal buildings in Granby, Colorado. This attack is commonly referred to as ‘killdozer’ due to the bulldozer used that was heavily modified with thick armour and bulletproof cameras. This revenge attack was revenge for the loss of the perpetrator’s business after a small feud with the local government. This attack was carried out after years of hidden planning and preparation, showing that radicalisation can easily be secretive.

Own Opinions on Radicalisation

I have my own experiences with radicalisation due to having friends in the army and friends who have unfortunately been radicalised. The main experience of this cannot be disclosed due to the sensitive nature of the case. Because of my voluntary work I have been trained in safeguarding which provides a broader aspect of radicalisation and extremism prevention within it.

Prevent Strategy

The government’s prevent strategy is a strategy designed to prevent the process of radicalisation through providing information and training to those responsible for safeguarding young and vulnerable people. A part of this strategy is a mandatory questionnaire for all college students, teaching them what radicalisation is to provide a defence against it for themselves and their peers.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is the duty of adults and anyone with responsibility to care for children or anyone who may be vulnerable. There are many different things that have to be safeguarded against, the main two being physical harm and mental distress. Safeguarding can be done through a wide range of practices such as providing safety equipment like life jackets to providing someone to talk to during difficult times.

Genderbread person

This diagram shows the theory that people have five main ways of expressing their gender and sexuality, through identity and expression for their gender regardless of their biological sex. With sexuality there are two main ideas, sexual attraction and romantic attraction that define someone’s sexuality.

Knowledge of this diagram helps to reduce radicalisation by explaining the key principles regarding gender and sexuality to help explain why someone is attracted towards or wants to be one gender or another, leading to more understanding which will reduce violence or hatred towards them. It also creates more empathy and empowerment for people of different genders.