A Christian charity is being examined by the Charity Commission after material on its website was unearthed that promotes misogynistic messages, including blaming women for rape.
The National Secular Society said it had raised concerns about the Holiness Revival Movement Worldwide Europe, also known as Horemow Europe, with the Charity Commission in June.
The NSS, which argues for the separation of religion and state, campaigns for the removal of “the advancement of religion” as a charitable purpose.
A letter, seen by Third Sector, from the commission to NSS this month said it would open a case into the charity.
Horemow Europe only became a registered charity at the end of May.
The NSS said that charities were required to serve a public benefit and not to promote extremist views, but the material on the charity’s website was incompatible with these requirements.
The society said it found a leaflet on Horemow Europe’s website that blames women’s fashion choices for contributing to rape.
“What does it mean to look sexy anyway? It is simply to appeal for or suggest sex by the way you dress and apply make-up,” the leaflet said. “No wonder there is increase in rape today and people are not addressing the real problem. You who dress like this is a strong contributor to the problem.”
Additional content on the website includes claims that trousers are “the uniform of a harlot” and wearing trousers helps women “to market her commodity to get the opposite sex aroused as they view the shape of her private part”.
Megan Manson, head of policy and research at NSS, said: “We welcome the Charity Commission’s investigation, but this charity shouldn’t have been registered in the first place.
“The Charity Commission should now move to ensure Horemow Europe doesn’t enjoy the privileges of charitable status while pushing messages that fuel rape culture.”
A commission spokesperson said: “We are aware of concerns relating to this charity. We are currently assessing information to determine our next steps. We cannot comment further at this time.”
The charity did not respond to a request for comment before publication of this article.