The Otley Run Attack And The Rise Of Violent Misogyny

A month on from the life-threatening attack on the famous Otley Run pub crawl, we look at the suspect’s motivations and how the rise of misogyny might have been a cause.

The police cordoned off roads after the attack (Credit: YappApp)

Just over a month ago, on Saturday 26th April, police were called to Otley Road in the Headingley area of Leeds after they received reports of a male suspect brandishing weapons. As usual, the popular student area was buzzing with excited pub-goers who were equipped with their best fancy dress to take on the 19 pubs on the renowned ‘Otley Run’. Two women were admitted to hospital to be treated for their injuries, as was the suspect, 38-year-old Owen Lawrence, who was arrested at the scene and later died due to his self-inflicted injuries.

As the roads surrounding the area were locked down and the traffic stopped, news of the attack spread, and social media posts written by the suspect himself began to circulate. The Facebook post, written by Lawrence before the attack took place, detailed his plans for his so-called “Otley Run Massacre”, including images of weapons such as the crossbow and firearm found at the scene.

Citing his motivations as “revenge”, “terrorism”, and “misogynistic rage”, Lawrence appeared to display his hatred for women and girls openly on social media, with Facebook posts earlier in the year stating that he hates “gender equality”, and “feminists of all four waves”. Lawrence also referred to his exploration of “far right ideas” including the work of Brenton Tarrant, who after releasing his manifesto ‘The Great Replacement’ online in 2019 killed 51 people in and around two mosques at Christchurch in New Zealand. This use of social media to attract attention to their beliefs and intentions appears to be of great value to the perpetrators, allowing them to align themselves with far right and extremist ideologies.

This has raised further concerns for affected communities about the increasingly prevalent hate and violence against women online, and its impacts on real-world politics and cultural beliefs. With social media content being a significant opinion leader in the lives of many, its influence has never been so evident in recent years, as communities promoting resentment towards women, feminism, and gender equality have been popularised and have threatened women’s safety both online and offline.

One of the most recognisable influencers of these online communities is self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, who has in recent years received widely publicised accusations of rape, human trafficking, and sexual aggression, to name but a few. This has not denied Tate social media success, with a following on ‘X’ that amasses to 10.7 million and several viral clips in which he speaks in derogatory ways about women. According to research conducted by King’s College London, younger age groups are more likely to have a positive opinion of Tate, in particular, 1 in 5 young men who have heard of Tate and say that they have a positive view of him.

Andrew Tate being interviewed by media. (Credit: Reuters)

It is no surprise that young people appear to be the most influenced by the surge of misogynistic content and hate towards women online, as content is presented as entertainment on social media platforms that utilise short-form content to engage users. Social media creators thus hold a powerful position in which they can normalise harmful content for young people, fuelling misogynistic ideologies and leading young people to idolise them until they become a popular part of mainstream culture.

Interesting research by UCL and the University of Kent found that in their inspection of TikTok algorithms, after just 5 days of usage on the app there was a fourfold increase in the level of misogynistic content presented on the ‘For You’ page which recommends content to individual accounts. With the algorithm privileging more extreme material and the obsessive use of social media platforms by young people, users are quickly exposed to more extreme sexist views which perpetuate ideas about hate and violence against women. Therefore, much responsibility can be placed on the platforms themselves, as casual engagement with the extremist content that is so commonly served to young people can spiral into recruitment for the communities that are fuelling hatred and misogyny online.

Evidently, this is not a problem that is simply a matter of opinion, it is affecting the lives of all women and girls in every aspect, and lives should not have had to have been endangered in the recent attack on Otley Road for concerns to be raised. Forcing online platforms to take accountability for hateful content is not the only way in which we can stop violence against women from continuing to be a societal norm. Stronger action should be taken to police online content and educating young people should be at the forefront of our everyday conversations. Challenging these behaviours is surely the most important and effective way to create positive experiences for women and girls online and in their communities.