BBC News does not inform readers cat killer and murderer Scarlett Blake is transgender in this article. I intend to complain to ofcom. These are not our crimes.

[Heylo]

Has anyone seen this recent article on the transgender (trans woman) Scarlett Blake who was sentenced to 24 years today for murdering a man. Blake also killed a cat. Pls see this recent article from bbc news. BBC news puts nowhere in article that Blake is transgender. Uses pronouns ‘she’ and refers to Blake as a woman.

bbc article here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-68401335

These are not our crimes. I am reporting the omission of the fact Blake is transgender to Ofcom. I wonder if anyone is thinking the same (about reporting to ofcom, here is the link: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/complaints )

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/28/trans-cat-killer-scarlet-blake-crimes-will-recorded/

I complained to the bbc about their news programme where they reported Blake as ‘a woman’. Here is their sad little response. Grim. You need to tap on the obi to to see the whole thing.

At least you got a response, poor as it is, I have had nothing since the acknowledgement.

Response from bbc to my complaint - tap to see it. Anyone any ideas how to respond as I’m not accepting of their response at all

My response to bbc

I am not accepting bbc response to my complaint and wish to go to stage 1b.

Bbc have have no explanation as to why they initially omitted in their report that this offender was in fact a male person identifying as a transgender woman. They have not apologised for giving the public misleading information. They reported that a women had committed this sex crime. They misled the public to believe this crime was committed by a female. A crime like this is actually typically a male crime. It was in fact not committed by a woman. It was indeed committed by a male person.
Bbc have not acknowledged they misled the public in their initial reporting. They have not acknowledged how serious it is to tell the public a sex crime was committed by a woman when in fact this is incorrect and the crime was committed by a male. They have not acknowledged how serious it is for a tax payer organisation to misled the public. They have not said if they have learned from this or if they would do differently in the future. I have lost faith in the bbc whom I previously trusted as a reputable news source.

I do not think my complaint has been taken seriously, no apology was given and no offer as to what will happen going forward. The response is a waffling cop out

@Sletty, I wonder if you can point out that their reporting led many people to believe that Scarlet Blake is actually a woman. It seems there is a clear "editorial reason not to do so" as their reports on this case have misled the public. Are their tactics deliberate? Possibly, though most other news reports on Scarlet Blake seem to have done the same, in contrast to some other cases. The BBC didn't even mention "trans" in some of their reports, and in others it was only further down, after several paragraphs saying "woman" and "she". Note that although Brianna identified as a girl, in every report Brianna's trans status was clearly mentioned; here it wasn't.

They have now upheld a complaint against Justin Webb for describing transwomen as "male", despite that being a) the truth and b) clear language to avoid misunderstandings.

So I take their answer as dishonest, frankly.

Yes. To all of the above. In addition they need to acknowledge that many many viewers / readers don’t understand that a transwoman = a man. And reasonably so. Factually speaking it should be trans man (a man transitioning to ‘be a woman’. Makes much more sense, factually, grammatically, visually and semantically. But that ship has sailed sadly).

Also if a victim is trans, that is always made very clear. The predator being trans, mentioned less often. If at all, as we’ve seen in thus case. Until they panicked and updated all the written reports.

I think the Scarlet Blake case has been particularly problematic because in the mugshot that appears at the top of every news story about him, he looks quite androgynous and could well be thought to be a woman. (This androgyny goes away of course in the videos, especially where he is speaking). If you look at photos of Tiffany Scott, on the other hand, no one in their right mind could mistake him for a woman.

Also, all the news outlets called Blake a woman and used she/her throughout, with any mention of "trans" very much an afterthought.

Just posted on YouTube by Spiked. There is no IPSO ruling that transwomen must be referred to by female pronouns or their sex not stated. Concensus is that it is down to the editors' policy and the Government not acting.

Blake's hands are huge.

Hands give the game away in so many cases. But granted most news outlets won't be showing the hands.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-13148575/It-uncomfortable-truth-reports-say-transgender-murderer-Scarlet-Blake-man-says-SUELLA-BRAVERMAN.html

Suella Braverman is quite right - "Blake is a transgender woman, also known as a man." Though elsewhere the Daily Mail is calling Blake "she"....

Braverman in rare "stopped clock" moment.

Thanks for posting this and for clarifying the situation re using pronouns in the media ie no IPSO ruling.

www.heraldscotland.com/news/24187858.bbc-flooded-complaints-scarlet-blake-report/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaint-service-reports

Interesting. The last 2 reports had issues ref trans women.

‘trans women’s milk as good as breast milk’ 🙈🤬 I didn’t even know they were trying to pedal such a ridiculous myth. The bbc are a disgrace.

They had some odd gender studies woman on who confidently made this claim, without challenge, although the presenter didn't look comfortable.