NEWS Chief Constable Andy Marsh Zoe Wakefield
Women’s group speaks out
against misogyny
Jokes about gender are as unacceptable as those about race and sexuality, the conference was told. The pervasive nature of misogyny came under the spotlight in a session hosted by the Federation’s self- organised national women’s group. Members heard how female
officers still faced discrimination at work with group chair Zoë Wakefield giving examples of abusive social media messages she and others had received. Zoë, who is also Chair of Hampshire
CHIEF: WE WERE RIGHT NOT TO INTERVENE IN STATUE PROTEST
Chief Constable Andy Marsh defended his force’s decision not to try to prevent the toppling of the Edward Colston statue by Black Lives Matter protesters. The Avon and Somerset boss told
a conference session of his belief that colleagues would have been injured if they intervened to stop the statue being rolled into the river, but said they are bringing prosecutions. Recalling the events in Bristol last
summer, Mr Marsh said: “From first CCTV footage of rope being put around the statue, it was less than two minutes before it was on the floor. Would we have been able to put a circle around it, and hold it until a low-loader arrived?” Policing such situations is a “Goldilocks dilemma”, the chief officer said, explaining for some the response is too strong, for others it’s not tough enough. So far, four people have been charged over the statue incident, and eight are
being prosecuted for the serious violence against officers at Bridewell Station earlier this year. Mr Marsh added: “We are far from
finished with those charges – when people see the footage of what those officers dealt with (at Bridewell) their jaws will be on the table.” Met Sergeant Nikki O’Malley described a protest, against lockdown and the vaccine, which got out of hand in Hyde Park in London. “There were a lot of questions from PCs about why were not in protective equipment,” she said. PFEW National Chair John Apter warned about “agitators” who take any opportunity to turn a protest violent. He spoke of a “growing frustration” among colleagues that bosses are more concerned about “how it looks to have officers in riot kit than the safety of the officers”. He added: “I will always fall on the side of the safety of colleagues.”
Police Federation, told the session that women often received negative comments from male colleagues about their fitness for the job. National Police Chiefs’ Council
gender lead and Derbyshire Chief Constable Rachel Swann said misogynistic comments were too often dismissed as “banter” which was no longer acceptable. She said: “It isn’t about not having
fun. Having a laugh is important for de-stressing but it shouldn’t come at someone else’s expense. We’ve made other kinds of banter around sexuality and race off limits, but it still seems gender is OK to joke about.” The session heard that female
officers who opted to work part- time for childcare purposes still face discrimination. Sergeant Sue Honeywill, a mother-of-five, said: “When it happened to me, I was still the same person, with the same abilities to offer the Force. The only difference was I was part-time.” Assistant Chief Constable Mark
Travis from South Wales Police delivered a presentation on gender discrimination in the workplace which revealed as many as 90 per cent of female officers in Wales said they had experienced sexual harassment at work.
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