'The Invisible Strand' is out tomorrow - we are sending a copy to every PCC and the Home Secretary, also to the EHRC, asking them to investigate. Lisa Townsend the PCC for Surrey has written a foreword.
The letter reads
"I am writing on behalf of the campaigning group ‘Fair Cop’. I write to you as the statutory body established to help eliminate discrimination and reduce inequality and attach to this letter a copy of our recent report ‘The Invisible Strand’
This report highlights our concerns that operational policing decisions around the recording and investigation of ‘hate crimes’ and ‘hate incidents non crime’ are
- Inherently discriminatory towards women, and in particular those women who hold the protected belief that biological sex is fixed at fertilisation and is immutable.
- Pay no or insufficient attention to the public sector equality duty and have caused or encouraged a public perception that one monitored strand – ‘transgender’ – is offered an enhanced level of police protection and interest, above any other monitored strand or protected characteristic.
A copy of this report will be sent to every Police and Crime Commissioner, the Home Secretary and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services, in light of the Home Secretary’s recently announced plans to write to the Inspectorate to conduct a ‘thematic inspection’ of the police forces’ ability to detect and deal with misogynistic and predatory behaviour.
We would therefore be grateful if you would consider the matters that we set out in this report and explain what action you are willing to take in this regard.""
We will publish a link to the PDF on Twitter - please do amplify if you think its useful.