Wolf-whistling, otherwise known as “misogyny,” is now a hate crime in Britain.
Newsweek reports on the Nottinghamshire police force’s new definition:
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."
That’s a fascinating definition. Is asking a woman out on a date included? Isn’t dinner and a movie “targeting” women? There are already laws against unwanted touching and domestic abuse in Britain, but:
The new category will include everything from verbal comments and wolf whistling to unwanted physical approaches. The use of mobile devices to send uninvited messages or take photographs without consent will also warrant police attention. When reported, Nottinghamshire police will investigate the claim and specially trained officers will provide support for the victim.
The new police expansion of hate apparently stems from a September 2015 incident in which some guy on a street shouted “sexual obscenities” at BBC radio reporter Sarah Teale as she was reporting on sexual harassment in the Nottingham area. No one knows what the heckler actually said (because BBC refused to release that information)—or indeed, whether he was serious or simply having crude fun at Teale’s expense.
But no matter: In Britain it seems that a cat may not look at a queen—and a yob may certainly not look at a sensitive-flower female BBC reporter. Calls for the bloke’s head ensued. So the police are now ensuring the feminists that the next man who dares to insult Sarah Teale will be promptly arrested.
"We're pleased to see Nottinghamshire Police recognize the breadth of violence and intimidation that women experience on a daily basis in our communities,” said Melanie Jeffs, centre manager at Nottingham Women's Centre. "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."…
A spokeswoman from The End Violence Against [Women] Coalition agrees that many women feel frightened to go about their daily lives, because of sexual violence, harassment or unwanted comments: “For far too long women and girls in this country and around the world have endured misogynistic abuse as they go about their daily lives, amongst many other forms of violence and harassment. ActionAid’s own research highlights that globally three in four women experience harassment on the streets of their cities,” she said in a statement issued to Newsweek.
Three out of four women? That’s a lot of wolf-whistling. Which means, I guess, that three out of four men in Nottinghamshire are likely to be in the clink very soon.