Devon and Cornwall police have become the latest UK police force to begin to record gender-based hate crimes.
Gender-based hate crimes are those motivated by hatred for a person based on their sex or gender.
They hope that by gathering this data, the scale of the issue can be better understood, and that more effective solutions may be developed to tackle it.
There has been a consistent rise in hate crime across England and Wales since 2011, with the total number of offences increasing by 17% between 2016/17 and 2017/18 according to Home Office Statistics. During this time, there was also a 32% increase in transgender-based hate crime.
Police will not only record hate crimes, but hate incidents- those which aren’t legally considered criminal, but still motivated by hate.
Shaun Sawyer, Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “We are committed to investigating all forms of hate crime and sex and gender hate crimes are no more or less important for DCP than other hate crimes related to race, disability or sexual orientation.’’
‘‘Hate crime is a serious matter and and one that continues to be a priority for Devon and Cornwall Police.’’
“Gender and sexist hate crime (misogyny and misandry) cause great distress to victims and we recognise that the trauma for victims can be life changing”
‘‘We will also be recording hate incidents; those incidents which are not crimes under the law but which are motivated by hate and can cause great distress to victims.’’
Originally published in print on 10 December 2018.
