[kictanet] Sexist remarks and wolf-whistles could become criminal offences

[alice at apc.org]

Happy Women's day...
Best
Alice


http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/mar/08/sexist-comments-to-become-criminal-offence

Sexist remarks and wolf-whistles could become criminal offences in the UK

PM to announce today that UK will sign up to Council of Europe's
convention on violence against women, which could mean criminalising
unwanted verbal conduct

Salacious whistles and sexist comments may fall foul of new laws against
sexual harassment to which Britain is signing up, the prime minister will
announce on Thursday.

The pledge to criminalise "verbal, non-verbal or physical" sexual
harassment is one of the commitments in the Council of Europe's convention
on violence against women, which David Cameron will commit to signing at a
special event to mark International Women's Day.

Among the pledges in the convention, which has already been signed by 18
countries including Germany, France and Ukraine, is one to pass
legislation or other measures to criminalise or impose other sanctions for
"unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature with
the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular
when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or
offensive environment".

Another clause would outlaw "psychological violence" – defined as
"seriously impairing a person's psychological integrity through coercion
or threats", language which suggests serious bullying could be covered by
new laws.

Other measures Britain and other signatories would have to enshrine in law
include compensation for victims of domestic violence; easy annulment or
dissolution of forced marriages; and punishments for carrying out or
coercing somebody into genital mutilation, forced abortions or forced
sterilisation.

In a separate move, Cameron is expected to back government support for new
laws to criminalise stalking, with jail terms of up to five years and
unlimited fines.

Signing up to the European convention will be announced in a joint
statement by Cameron and deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, to mark
International Women's Day. "The agreement is not just a piece of paper,"
says the statement. "It's going to lift the standards of protection for
women across Europe, give greater support for victims and – crucially –
bring many more perpetrators to justice."

Former attorney general Baroness Scotland, who worked on the convention
for four years under the Labour government, said the clause on sexual
harassment was not intended to cover less serious incidents such as
wolf-whistling and public teasing. However, campaigners on the issue said
the convention was "what we've been trying to get for years".

Julia Gray, founder of the London branch of US movement Hollaback,
dedicated to getting rid of street harassment, said: "The way we see it is
if you want to tackle it you tackle all of it – you say no to all forms of
unwanted sexual harassment; that includes wolf-whistling, comments,
everything."

A Downing Street spokesman said it was too early to discuss possible
sanctions for sexual harassment.

Overall, the convention was largely modelled on UK laws and practices, but
signing it would help protect Britain's high standards, said Scotland. "I
praise God they have finally signed it, but I'm shocked they didn't sign
immediately [in 2011]."

The announcement on stalking follows a year-long campaign for reform
organised by the charity Protection Against Stalking and Napo, the
probation and family court union.

The Conservative Lord Oliver Henley will table amendments on stalking law
reform to the protection of freedoms bill in parliament. He will be
followed by an official announcement from the prime minister at an evening
reception to mark International Women's Day at Number 10.

In a statement released (WED) on Wednesday night, Cameron said: "Stalking
is an abhorrent crime. It makes life a living hell for the victims –
breaking up relationships, forcing the victims to move house, making them
feel they are being watched 24 hours of the day. That is why we are
explicitly criminalising stalking, to make sure that justice is done,
protect the victims and show beyond doubt that stalking is a crime."

The British Crime Survey estimated that approximately 120,000 incidents of
stalking occur each year. Between 2009 and 2010, however, just 53,000
crimes of stalking or harassment were recorded by the police: 2% of which
received a custodial sentence, and a further 10% of which were given a
fine or a probation order.

The reforms are thought to be similar to those introduced in Scotland in
December 2010. Since the introduction of the stalking law in Scotland
there have been over four hundred400 prosecutions compared with an average
of seven per year under existing breach of the peace legislation for each
of the previous 10 years.