Police Officers in One U.K. County Are Now Treating Misogyny and Street Harassment as Hate Crimes
The police force in England's Nottinghamshire County came to the decision after meeting with women's rights activists. The police force in England's Nottinghamshire County came to the decision after meeting with women's rights activists.
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The police force in England’s Nottinghamshire County came to an important decision after meeting with women’s rights activists. Since late July, “crimes ranging from harassment on the street to aggressive physical approaches [are being] recorded as hate crimes.”
From The Independent:
Police officers in the UK are to classify misogyny and incidents of harassment against women as hate crimes for the first time, under new measures. … The force now defines misogynistic hate crime as “incidents against women that are motivated by an attitude of a man towards a woman, and includes behaviour targeted towards a woman by men simply because they are a woman”.
Planning for the scheme began in summer 2014, when members of the police force met with women’s rights campaigners and staff from Nottingham Women’s Centre. … “We need to call out misogyny for what it is – a hate crime. Women and girls face a tidal wave of abuse and harassment every day. Our law has to send a clear signal that this is not acceptable. It is a crime.” … Melanie Jeffs, Centre Manager at Nottingham Women’s Centre, said: “We’re pleased to see Nottinghamshire Police recognise 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 to see the seriousness of these incidents and hopefully encourage more women to come forward and report offences.”
Read more.
— Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata
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