Vocal Voices

That Nottinghamshire police are treating verbal heckling of women (wolf whistling), as a hate crime. If it were not for the fact that I know that Boston is now a no go area for two of my daughters, who are well over 30 and not exactly in the shy and retiring category.

When asked why they don't go there they stated that the verbal abuse they face and the physical abuse that friends have had, makes them feel threatened and they simply won't go there.

Boston is currently reported as the murder capital of Europe, let alone the UK. 99% of those murders, verbal abuse and physical abuse come from Eastern European land workers imported for the farms. Don't get me wrong, we have some of our own, but nothing like the influx which has been seen.

It was no surprise at all, to me, that Boston voted 75/25 to leave.

What I really hate is that this is a totally unproportionate response. But the scale of the issue has become so large and the courts have refused to treat the abuse with the correct gravity, that this has had to be the result.

It's a dark day for British democracy but it has been brought on by our own politically correct civil servants.

My thoughts were initially the same - that it was a step too far.

Then I thought of the times I have been in town and seen groups of men basically leching at women to the extent that they were being given a wide berth. This is in broad daylight in a busy city centre with CCTV everywhere.

It should not have had to be made a 'special' crime as the rules are already there, but perhaps this warning by Notts is a shot across the bows to let them know they are on the radar.

The occasional wink or whistle is fine, but some behaviour can be threatening, especially to very young women, so I am not totally averse to this move.

never hear any wolf whistles at girls here,and they are really drop dead gorgeous

Men have always whistled, even at me "when I was young" .however today it is not necessarily the whistling that
is offensive, but the threat of a crowd of males gathered concentrating and harassing the individual, or individuals.

I'm going to be a bit controversial, so feel free to yell at me ......

On balance, I think it is unnecessary micro-management which will only help to alienate the police further from the public.

It sounds fine until the first arrest of an autistic lad who "commits the crime" simply not knowing what he has done, and the first arrest of an innocent male falsely accused of "intimidating" a female.

Totally agreeing with your last post Kate! x

Ossie I would never yell at you, but perhaps being a male you have no idea just how intimidating it can be to a woman, especially a young one, to be on the receiving end

Good points regarding arrests, Ossie.

As with all 'soft' laws the police are going to have to do something they are not famed for: use common sense.

I have to say, though, that I agree with the general thrust of what is being done. When you see women of all types and ages being ogled, stared at and having to run the gauntlet of nudge-nudge, wink-wink taunts it is time for action.