Nottinghamshire Police are now going to classify misogynistic behavior as a hate crime in a movement to combat sexist abuse. Uninvited sexual advances and unwanted verbal contact such as catcalling and wolf-whistling, as well as the use of a mobile phone to take photographs non-consensually or send unwanted messages, will now be treated as hate crimes if reported to the police. If such behaviour is aimed at a victim because they are a woman, it is classified as misogynistic.
The implementation will encourage women to report incidents ‘perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hatred’, which they perceive as threatening, so that support can be put in place. Chief Constable Sue Fish said that she was ‘delighted’ that Nottinghamshire is leading the way towards combatting misogyny, as she believes ‘[w]hat women face, often on a daily basis, is absolutely unacceptable and can be extremely distressing’. Nottinghamshire police have been working with Nottingham Women’s Centre, whose manager, Melanie Jeffs, said, ‘We’re pleased to see Nottinghamshire police recognize the breadth of violence and intimidation that women experience on a daily basis in our communities. Understanding this as a hate crime will help people see the seriousness of these incidents’.
Not all responses have been positive, however, with some comments on the Daily Mail’s report expressing consternation that it is no longer acceptable to sexually harass women in the street. One commenter, ‘Henryhh’ said ‘It would seem that the Nottinghamshire police have nothing better to do but dream up silly reasons to prosecute people’, while ‘I say what I see’ commented ‘When I read the headlines I knew there would be a woman in charge. Pity she can’t focus on more serious crimes before joining the PC Brigade’. Meanwhile, on The Guardian, one commenter placed the blame on victims, saying ‘What a load of shit. Soft Britain again. Stop most women and girls dressing like slags then’. Some commenters were more supportive of the actions of Nottinghamshire police: ‘Wolf whistling, as well as other types of casual misogyny, should be treated this way. Men do it to make women feel uncomfortable. Women shouldn’t have to put up with it.’
So far, Nottingham is the only police force to implement this change.
Like this? Then you may also be interested in:
We Have A Female Prime Minister But This Is No Feminist Victory.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.