A senior police officer in the UK warned the public on Wednesday that misgendering a person can be a “form of abuse.”
Deputy Chief Constable Julie Cooke, from Cheshire Police, released the 30-second video on Twitter to mark International Pronouns Day.
In the video, Ms Cooke warns: “Being misgendered can have a huge impact on somebody and their personal wellbeing. It also can be used as a form of abuse for somebody, and that just isn’t right.
“Today is about raising awareness, getting people to have conversations, and understanding why it is so important to understand the pronouns that somebody wishes to be used for them.”
It’s not surprising that the video, which has attracted more than 650k views has been widely ridiculed on social media, with many users suggesting the police should focus on protecting people’s lives from real crimes, not protecting people’s feelings from words.
Only last year it was reported that crime in Cheshire has risen by 36.4%, with violence against the person up by a staggering 43%. The county saw the third-highest increase out of all 43 police forces in England and Wales.
In the year 2017, figures obtained from the Office of National Statistics revealed 82,443 crimes were committed in the county.
According to CheshireLive, “Public order offences were up by 124%, sexual offences rose 34%, robbery jumped by 33%, theft increased by 13% and burglary went up by 6%.”
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