Police force is accused of ‘victim blaming’ after telling women they put themselves at risk of harassment and physical assault by walking alone at night
- Nottinghamshire Police made post after being called by a woman on Friday night
- She felt threatened and thought she was being followed in Nuthall, Nottingham
- Police’s post said women who walk alone at night are ‘at risk of harassment’
- They have apologised for the ‘clumsy attempt to communicate an incident’
A police force has been accused of victim-blaming and returning to the 1980s in a ‘condescending’ post telling women they should not walk alone at night because they risk being attacked.
Nottinghamshire Police made the controversial statement on Facebook after receiving a call from a woman who felt threatened and thought she was being followed by a man in Nuthall, Nottingham, around 11pm on November 22.
The post, which has now been deleted, said: ‘Taking a risk when it comes to walking alone at night is not one of those things we should be doing.
Nottinghamshire Police has been accused of ‘victim blaming’ after suggesting women who walk alone at night put themselves at risk of being harassed or attacked. The statement, which was displayed on the Broxtowe North Police Facebook page, was posted after reports of a woman being followed on November 22 and later taken down
‘Women who walk alone especially at night are at risk of harassment, or even physical assault.’
It was displayed on the Broxtowe North Police Facebook page, which covers Eastwood, Kimberley, Nuthall and other surrounding areas of North Nottinghamshire.
Helen Voce, chief executive of Nottingham Women’s Centre, said: ‘It felt like a 1980s thing. It is so condescending, blaming women for going out and it’s so sexist about us coming back from the shops.
A spokesperson from the force (pictured, headquarters) said they ‘recognise this was a clumsy attempt to communicate an incident with the underlying intention of keeping people safe’
‘I think it makes women feel like it’s their fault and that’s ridiculous.’
Ms Voce said advice should focus on how men can make women feel safer at night, instead of warning women over walking alone at night.
Crucially ‘it’s men that need to change their behaviour’.
One woman replied to the post: ‘When I read this, all I feel is fear and am reminded again, that as a woman I’m not supposed to be in public spaces.’
Another person said: ‘May I politely remind you it is 2019 and we no longer blame women for whatever crime has been committed against them?’
A resident replied: ‘All people should be safe to walk the streets that they live any time of the day or night. Do not blame the victim here.’
Meanwhile one woman suggested the staff member who wrote the statement should have some retraining.
A Women’s Centre executive said the post (pictured) was reminiscent of the 1980s by being so ‘condescending, blaming women for going out and it’s so sexist about us coming back from the shops’
A woman offered a different perspective: ‘I always caution my daughter to never walk home alone or get a taxi on her own at night… Am I wrong? Victim blaming or being risk aware?’
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesperson said: ‘We recognise this was a clumsy attempt to communicate an incident with the underlying intention of keeping people safe.’
The police forced claimed to have deleted the post after receiving feedback and ‘would apologise unreservedly for any offence caused’.
This comes as women have taken to the streets for the Reclaim The Night marches to protest violence against women, street harassment and gender equality.
More than 100 protesters have taken to Bristol’s streets chanting messages: ‘Whatever we wear, Wherever we go, Yes means ‘yes’, No means ‘no’.’
Women’s Network chairwoman Syirah Ami, 21, said: ‘Misogyny and rape culture is still very much alive.
‘I’d rather worry about my degree and my social life than be thinking, ‘Am I going to get home safe tonight’?’
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