Video does not show police officer ‘explaining using wrong pronouns is a criminal offence’

A tweet with almost 1,500 shares claims to show a “Police Woman explaining the use of a wrong pronoun is a criminal offence”.

But the video, which has also been shared on Facebook, shows nothing of the sort. 

In the clip, the police officer says: “Today is international pronouns day which is a day particularly important to people who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming. 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 someone wishes to be used for them. Have a good day.”

The officer makes no reference to anything being illegal and doesn’t mention criminal offences or hate crimes.

The woman in the video is former Deputy Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary Julie Cooke, who tweeted the video from her personal Twitter account on 16 October 2019. Cheshire Constabulary suggested to Full Fact that she had been speaking in her capacity as the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for LBGT+.

Her tweet did not mention the idea of using the incorrect pronouns for someone being a crime either. It said: “Today marks #pronounsday – seeking to make sharing, educating and respecting personal pronouns commonplace.”

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told Full Fact that “the police officer does not say that misgendering is a criminal offence”.

Full Fact has contacted Ms Cooke and will update this article if she responds.

Is misgendering or using the wrong pronouns for someone a crime?

There is no specific criminal offence of misgendering or using incorrect pronouns. However, deliberately misgendering someone, in certain circumstances, could constitute a hate crime, harassment or a public order offence. Whether it would amount to criminal behaviour will depend on the specific circumstances of each case. If cases are reported to the police, and the CPS decides to prosecute, it would ultimately be for the courts to decide whether the person charged is guilty of an offence.

The response to a rejected petition asking the government to “Make deliberately misgendering someone a hate crime” submitted in 2022, was that: “The act of deliberating [sic] mis-gendering someone is already a hate crime, if a court determines that this act demonstrated hostility based on that person's transgender identity, or that it was motivated by hostility based on their transgender identity.”

While the legal definition of a hate crime relies on objective proof of hostility, the police and the CPS use a broader definition of hate crime for recording and monitoring purposes. This is: any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice, based on a person's disability or perceived disability; race or perceived race; or religion or perceived religion; or sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation or transgender identity or perceived transgender identity.

According to the CPS, any crime can be prosecuted as a hate crime if the offender has either “demonstrated hostility based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity” or “been motivated by hostility based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity”.

The CPS also told Full Fact additional offences that a person could be charged with are section 4A or section 5 public order offences under the Public Order Act 1986, but added that “The CPS can only prosecute cases where there is evidence that a criminal offence has occurred, and our legal test is met. Each case will depend on the individual facts and context.”

We’ve previously fact checked false claims the government had banned the phrase ‘pregnant woman’ and that a couple told the media their baby was transgender.

Image courtesy of Alexander Grey