Wolf whistling - a hate crime ??

OTT IMHO
But then I have never been able to whistle, either

I would have thought it was a term showing admiration rather than a hate crime,I could only whistle when I was small and lost my two front teeth.!!

I remember starting a thread on this some months ago which got very heated and ran to several pages so I will leave this alone.

If someone wolf whistled me I would walk past them again absolutely ridiculous classing it as a hate crime!!!

I think we have all experienced the wolf whistle and probably at the time either took no notice of it or were able to come back with a sarcastic remark. I think the problem now is women are so often portrayed as sex objects that the whistle is sometimes accompanied by lewd comments and women can feel intimated by that. I don't think the police will be staking out building sites and the like waiting to pounce on whistlers.

Ah I didn't see the other thread Ann .

I haven't been wolf whistled in years so I think I'd probably be flattered

I always regarded a wolf whistle as a cheeky compliment, sadly with the passing of time, now a distant one!! To make it a hate crime is quite extraordinary! Obviously if it's accompanied by lewd comments , that's a different matter, but on its own, surely it's harmless.

If someone wolf-whistled me, I would suggest a quick trip to Specsavers.

Snap!! That did make me laugh!!!

The Nottingham plods have more on their plates than arresting loungers for wolf whistling, but they probably think it sounds good (talk is cheap....)

Making wolf whistling a hate crime is pandering to a very silly victim mentality. I wonder if those who think a wolf whistle is hateful and criminal are really just envious of people who get them.

I can understand lewd comments being regarded as harassment, depending on how lewd they are.

Can't say I've ever felt hated or abused by such attentions from men. A little blushy at times perhaps, but that's all.

Women's fashion industry spends its time trying to get women to wear and do "head turning" things. Then when some women are successful in turning heads and eliciting appreciative whistles or comments, they object. Seems a bit skewiff to me. There is an argument that women do it (the wearing of head turning things, etc) for themselves and not for men, but we (men and women) are sexual creatures and it's silly to expect that what can be seen as sexual signalling shouldn't be seen as such.

I really thought that wolf whistles had died out, like messenger boys whistling. Now I realise why I haven't heard one for years?

What a ridiculous waste of police time. Is there no other crime in Nottinghamshire? If so, should we all move there as we'll be safe from burglary, muggings, assault and all the other crimes that happen elsewhere?

I always thought a wolf whistle was a compliment. In fact DH still whistles sometimes when he sees me. I thought this was because he appreciated me but apparently it's because he hates me.

I've known a few misogynists. I never thought of them as criminals. Deluded but not criminal .

St Paul was a renowned misogynist. Lucky for him he lived nearly 2000 years ago. If he lived in Nottinghamshire in 2016 he'd have never been able to organise Christianity because he'd be too busy being taken to court for hate crimes

That's ridiculous, have they nothing better to do with their time, the Notts Police I mean. Provided there are no offensive remarks accompanying the whistle then I don't see the problem.
We will soon have a life devoid of fun & humour then the PC brigade will be happy.
I like your idea annodomini made me laugh. I would be flattered to be wolf whistled now.

If you read the article it isn't just wolf whistling but verbal harassment and lewd comments. My DSs girlfriend has been subjected to this and became very upset. She isn't English but is tall and very attractive. She has had very rude remarks made to her often by men in their 20s in small groups. The remarks varied from things like "nice arse" to graphic and crude descriptions of what they would like to do to her. If she goes out alone she no longer wears short skirts and tries to wear loose concealing clothing. I feel desperately sorry for her and deeply ashamed of a country where this can happen so I think the more prosecutions the better.

trisher I completely agree with what you say - this is about much more than the odd 'cheeky' wolf-whistle. That your son's girlfriend should have to modify her clothing just to avoid being leered at on the street is obscene to me. My own daughter is constantly upset by these types of lewd remarks, comments on her physical appearance, sexual remarks etc. etc.

Saying essentially that getting dressed and going outside can be seen as 'sexual signalling' is offensive. Women should have the right to walk down the street without being stared or leered at. It's up to men to control themselves, not women to 'dress appropriately'. I would suggest this behaviour is often a show of dominance over a woman most of the time, rather than 'harmless fun'. Just shows how outdated some views are on what women should have to put up with.

Now I know I'm getting old. When I was in my teens if I didn't get wolf whistled I would be really upset. I never felt intimidated - just pleased that someone thought I looked attractive. There was no harm in it.

Me too! If I didn't get a wolf whistle going past a building site or wherever, I was mortified!!! The only person now who whistles is DH, who clearly needs specsavers!! or perhaps he's just being kind!!!! I always treated it as a compliment, and as for comments, I think they're probably nastier these days, years ago they were generally just saucy!

I don't disagree with your comments about the verbal harassment and lewd comments Trisher . It's the wolf whistling bit . Strikes me as a hammer to crack a nut !

The article isn't just about wolf whistles, although it includes them, but more generalised sexual comments.

I have just been involved in a verbal/physical abuse and harrassment incident, so I've had the law on harrassment explained to me by the police.

A person has to experience two separate incidents from the same person/people for the police to consider harrassment. They are then obliged to act. The first stage is to give an informal warning that a person is upset by a particular action. If the behaviour continues, action can be taken in a magistrates' court and a harrassment order can be issued. If the person breaks the harrassment order, criminal proceedings can be started. Therefore, it's a long process and many people might just put up with it. I don't think they should.

Occasional wolf whistling is probably fairly harmless, but if somebody has to put up with it every time she walks into work (for example), I think the employer should be informed and warn the whistlers and take disciplinary action if necessary.

I experienced misogynistic comments when I first started work. Thinking back, I wish I'd reported them, because I deliberately avoided this person. As he was my line manager, I eventually ended up changing my job. As a teenager, I was tall, skinny and had blonde hair (I'm still tall ) and I used to wear clothes to cover up, which meant I couldn't wear mini skirts or tight tops, so I always felt a bit of a frump.

I hated wolf whistles and I'm glad younger men seem to objectify women less than they did.

There is a difference between wolf whistles and lewd/threatening comments.

The key word is 'unwanted'.
No-one is going to be prosecuted for whistling at a woman who has no objection to being whistled at.

The Notts Chief Constable has said that the new procedures are part of tackling all kinds of misogyny and I think we should welcome that.
I hope it includes online misogyny and that people who abuse prominent women on Twitter are appropriately dealt with.

Is misandry a hate crime too or is it one rule for women and another for men?