Overwhelming public support for Misogyny Hate Crime Policy
People in Nottinghamshire will not tolerate misogyny hate crime and a policy introduced in 2016 is already shifting the attitudes of both victims and potential perpetrators, according to a new report.
Over 87 per cent of people surveyed thought a policy change two years ago to make misogyny a hate crime in Nottinghamshire, was a good idea.
The survey, which was commissioned by Nottingham Women’s Centre and funded by the Office for Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, was carried out to evaluate the policy implemented by Nottinghamshire Police.
The report, which was put together by experts from the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, also found that nearly 94 per cent of people surveyed have experienced or witnessed street harassment in Nottinghamshire.
Professor Louise Mullany, from the School of English at the University of Nottingham, said: “Our findings show that the public are supportive of the policy which was implemented two years ago, and whilst there are elements that need reviewing, on the whole, the policy is a positive change. The regular occurrence of incidents which sit under this kind of hate crime reported by our participants is quite shocking, and Nottinghamshire Police were absolutely right in addressing how they deal with such incidences.
“It was clear from some respondents that the wording of the policy may need changing, to something easier to understand. There also needs to be more awareness about the policy. We are only two years on, and all of these issues are easily addressed. We have made a series of recommendations in the report which will be the next step in further improving the policy.”