Norfolk police force has been criticised for a policy that allows male staff who identify as females to use women’s toilets, showers and changing rooms.
A female police officer who spoke anonymously to the Daily Mail commented: “A lot of people are very unhappy about this and don’t feel safe but it’s very difficult to speak out”.
The force defended the document, which is part of the constabulary’s Trans Equality at Work Policy, claiming employees should be able to use facilities “where they feel most comfortable”.
‘Harmful’
Cathy Larkman, Women’s Rights Network’s national policing lead, said: “Police leaders at the highest level have embraced gender ideology but it’s harmful to their own female officers and their rights.”
She explained: “It’s often a dirty and difficult role and officers come into contact with bodily fluids, drugs and excrement on a daily basis. Officers need access to private and dignified facilities which should be safe as well.
“Policewomen would feel reticent to speak out for fear of being labelled discriminatory and being subjected to disciplinary procedures, so they’re in an invidious position.”
Police Scotland
Last month, Police Scotland U-turned on a policy that allows alleged and convicted rapists to self-identify as women.
The force has come under fire for its policy of accepting criminals’ self-declaration of their gender, rather than legal or biological sex, amid concerns that this would skew statistics.
The reversal came in response to a 2021 petition by policy analysts Murray Blackburn Mackenzie (MBM) that challenged the police and courts to accurately record the sex of rapists.
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