After co-hosting the Nottinghamshire Safer for Women Conference last year, Nottingham Women’s Centre and Nottinghamshire Police have been working together to develop new rules about the way reports of abuse are handled.
A hate crime is classed as a crime perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards an aspect of someone’s identity, and police usually monitor these according to five strands: disability, gender identity, race/ethnicity/nationality, religion/faith/belief, and sexual orientation.
Now the hand has been extended to include acts of misogyny, women are encouraged to report incidents of harassment so the police can investigate them, and keep a clearer record of these kinds of happenings.
Chief Constable Sue Fish said: “I’m delighted that we are leading the way towards tackling misogyny in all its forms. It’s a very important aspect of the overall hate crime work being conducted and one that will make Nottinghamshire a safer place for all women.
“What women face, often on a daily basis, is absolutely unacceptable and can be extremely distressing. Nottinghamshire Police is committed to taking misogynistic hate crime seriously and encourages anyone who is affected by it to contact us without hesitation.
“The work we are doing with Nottingham Women’s Centre is so valuable and I am looking forward to continuing that work.”
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.”
Nottinghamshire Police state that misogyny “may be understood 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.
“Examples of this may include unwanted or uninvited sexual advances; physical or verbal assault; unwanted or uninvited physical or verbal contact or engagement; use of mobile devices to send unwanted or uninvited messages or take photographs without consent or permission.”
The move is being welcomed by many Nottingham women, with Nottinghamshire Police being one of the first forces in the country to have made it. However, there have been some arguments to say the move is counter-productive.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
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