What fresh hell is this? The UK Counter-Terrorism Commander just referred to a woman who travelled to join the Islamic State as a "bride," while in the same interview talking about the potential threat she poses. ANGRY THREAD: /n https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/shamima-begum-threat-neil-basu-antiterrorism-b320306.html
Anti-terror commander: Shamima Begum must be treated as a threat

EXCLUSIVE 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/shamima-begum-threat-neil-basu-antiterrorism-b320306.html
I honestly don't know how many times I have to explain this. Apparently n+1. Using this kind of language downplays the agency of the women who travelled to join the Islamic State, and risks further biasing counter-terrorism investigators assigned to assess their potential threat.
I expected better. This is not a new problem, and there's been a lot of research to support this perspective. Let's start with some alternative language. It's not hard, folks.
(adding this twitter thread to properly credit all the people who contributed to this handy list) https://twitter.com/JessMarinDavis/status/1097461247119892481?s=20
Look, I agree with the sentiment. Female Islamic State members could very well pose a threat. I make exactly that argument in this piece for @ICCT_TheHague https://icct.nl/publication/the-future-of-the-islamic-states-women-assessing-their-potential-threat/
The future of the Islamic State’s Women: assessing their potential threat

All former Islamic State members pose a unique threat or lack thereof based on their individual circumstances, but female members of the Islamic State seem to generate a particularly polarized respons

https://icct.nl/publication/the-future-of-the-islamic-states-women-assessing-their-potential-threat/
I guess I could yell at the internet some more but I'm just going to link to some research because I'm tired.
Does gender affect justice? Spoiler alert: YES.

from @Aud_Alexander @rcturk https://ctc.usma.edu/treatment-terrorists-gender-affect-justice/
Treatment of Terrorists: How Does Gender Affect Justice? – Combating Terrorism Center at West Point

Abstract: From arrests and sentencing to post-conflict reintegration, mounting evidence suggests that men and women engaged in terrorism-related activity receive differential treatment from governm...

https://ctc.usma.edu/treatment-terrorists-gender-affect-justice/
Do women do attacks? YES.

https://www.iss.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EUISSFiles/Brief_27_Women_in_Daesh.pdf
Are our counter-terrorism practitioners biased? YES. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0020702020976615
Investigating implicit biases around race and gender in Canadian counterterrorism - Rachel Schmidt,...

A growing body of research on terrorism and countering violent extremism (CVE) has increasingly questioned the lack of attention to—and myths around—women invol...

https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0020702020976615
Does that make us less safe? YES. https://twitter.com/IntrepidPodcast/status/1337076877245210626
Anyway. If you're reporting on women who joint terrorist organizations, do better than minimizing their role and agency by calling them brides. And this is doubly true if you're responsible for keeping people safe.
You can follow @JessMarinDavis.
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