Nottinghamshire Police to report Misogyny as Hate Crime

Harassment of women is to be recorded as a hate crime in a bid to tackle sexist abuse.

Nottinghamshire Police said it would expand its categories to include misogynistic incidents.

It means abuse or harassment which might not be a crime can be reported to and investigated by the police, and support for the victim put in place.

Nottingham Women’s Centre said it hopes it will help give more victims the courage to report incidents.

Chief Constable Sue Fish claimed it will make the county a safer place for women.

“What women face, often on a daily basis, is absolutely unacceptable and can be extremely distressing,” she said.

“Nottinghamshire Police is committed to taking misogynistic hate crime seriously and encourages anyone who is affected by it to contact us without hesitation.”

‘Violence and intimidation’

The force defines misogyny 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.”

The classification now means people can report incidents which might not be considered to be a crime and the police will investigate.

Nottingham Women’s Centre has been helping train call centre, force control staff and officers on the beat to recognise misogynistic hate crime and ways to tackle it.

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…Showing that the police take it seriously will also give people the confidence to come forward and report offences.”

This coupled with the spike in Hate Crime linked to the result of the recent EU referendum, Hate Crime is clearly a hot button issue.

By request from our clients and partners we have developed a training course which will help delegates gain a greater understanding of hate crime and how to use that knowledge to prevent it and protect its victims.

More information about the course can be found here