We’re proud to work in a city that is pioneering in so many respects: the first city to declare itself a FGM Zero Tolerance Zone; the first Police Force to record misogyny as a hate crime. Yet we’d like to see these approaches adopted as standard across the country to have a wider impact.
Nottinghamshire Police began recognising misogyny as a hate crime in April this year.
Hate crime incidents could include leering, groping, sexually explicit comments and sexual assault.
By recording incidents in this way, the Police aim to:
- Raise awareness of the seriousness of street harassment
- Encourage more women to report things that happen to them
- Gather better intelligence to highlight how common such incidents are
- Support affected women better
Since April, the Police have recorded over 50 misogynistic hate incidents and crimes. It’s great that Nottinghamshire Police have taken such a pro-active approach. We can all now act to encourage other Police Forces to follow suit.
There is a petition on Change.org that has already collected over 50,000 signatures, asking all Police Forces in England & Wales to adopt this approach. You can access the petition and sign it here.
If you need to report misogyny hate crime:
In an emergency, always call the Police on 999
Non-emergencies can be reported via 101
Or you can report online via True Vision, at www.report-it.org.uk