Northumbria Police attacked for ‘sexist’ domestic violence campaign ahead of new ‘coercive control’ law

New Fathers 4 Justice say the adverts were biased and out of date for suggesting only women were the victims of domestic violence

A “mens’ rights” group have threatened to stage “guerilla-style” demonstrations against a domestic violence campaign they claim is sexist.

Northumbria Police’s new campaign urging women to report warning signs of domestic abuse ahead of a new law which will make “emotional and financial” abuse a criminal office has been deemed sexist by New Fathers 4 Justice.

The group has said the advert – which says certain behaviours like threatening to hurt children if a partner leaves or being nice to them so long as they do as they are told are abusive – suggests that domestic violence perpetrators are exclusively male.

Phrases used include “he has never hit his partner, but he has punched walls” and “he says he will never hurt her, as long as she does what he wants” have been branded as biased and offensive by the group with campaigns for fathers’ rights.

A spokesman for the group told the Newcastle Chronicle: “Northumbria Police are disgracefully using out of date gender stereotypes and are living in the dark ages turning a blind eye to modern day life.

“Violence is violence, no matter who it’s aimed at and assaults by wives and girlfriends are often ignored by police and media.”

A spokesman for Northumbria police said they had initially focused on women as the vast majority of cases reported to police were against them but had taken on board the complaints made.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/northumbria-police-attacked-for-sexist-domestic-violence-campaign-ahead-of-new-coercive-control-law-a6792111.html

 

Northumbria Police domestic abuse posters ‘should be torn down’

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumbria-police-domestic-abuse-posters-10670437

The Advertising Standards Authority has received complaints about the ‘sexist’ posters in the Northumbria Police campaign.

A poll found that 60% of percent of people believe that Northumbria Police’s latest domestic abuse campaign is sexist.

The force landed itself in hot water with a poster campaign referring to abusers as ‘he’ and victims as ‘she’ was launched on social media.

The images were designed to highlight the new legislation on coercive and controlling behaviour which came into force on December 29.

Advertising regulator, ASA has confirmed it has received four complaints about the posters which campaign groups blasted as ‘biased and offensive’.

More than half of our readers polled said they thought the posters were sexist.

On the Chronicle Facebook page, Claire Nicholson commented: “It’s very sexist! It’s not just women who suffer domestic violence, a lot of women also dish it out. Just because more female victims come forward than men, doesn’t mean it’s more common among females to be victims! These posters are disgraceful!”

Jason Sewell added: “The fight for equality works both ways. These posters are shocking. Surely it must have been run through someone at the equality and diversity department. These posters need tearing down and removing from public view.”

However not everyone thought the posters were sexist and praised the police’s campaign.

Amanda Harbron said: “It could have been worded better but not sexist. It’s a good campaign and deserves good press not negativity. Mental cruelty and coercive control is not about who irons your shirts. It’s a living hell.”

Nicky Scott said she thought Northumbria should have used a mixture of pronouns in the posters for example, ‘She says he’s free to leave whenever he wants, but she’ll make sure he never sees the children again.’

Nicky said: “It would have been very easy to produce two or three posters aimed at male victims. I believe Vera Baird means well and she is driven to the cause, which is impressive, but she would make a bigger impact if she weren’t so tunnel visioned.

“I believe that there is a need for gender specific places of help, but that place is not the police. The police should always be neutral and on the side of victims – whatever sex they are.”

A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said it had received a number of complaints and the force will consider the responses ‘going forwards’.

They said the initial focus was on women as in the vast majority of cases reported to the police, women are the victims.

The spokesperson said: “The offence isn’t limited to just one gender or sexual orientation, anyone can be a victim of coercive control.

“We do acknowledge there are male victims out there and would encourage anyone who suffers domestic violence to contact police and seek help and support.

Police are accused of sexism after new anti-domestic violence campaign only refers to male attackers

• Northumbria Police referred to attackers as ‘he’ in social media campaign 
• Campaigners criticised the force, claiming they were living in the dark ages
• People accused the poster campaign of being ‘sexist’ and ‘discriminating’ 
• Force said majority of domestic abuse cases reported involved women

A police force is today at the centre of a sexism row after referring to attackers as ‘he’ in an anti-domestic violence campaign.

Protesters threatened to take part in ‘guerrilla-style’ demonstrations against Northumbria Police after the notices were shared on Twitter.

New Fathers 4 Justice – a fathers’ rights group in the UK – accused officers of living in the ‘dark ages’ and have made an official complaint to the force over the move.

Campaign: Northumbria Police is at the centre of a sexism row after referring to attackers as ‘he’ in an anti-domestic violence campaign, which saw posters (pictured) shared on social media.

Slogans designed to highlight new legislation on coercive and controlling behaviour read ‘he has never hit his partner, but he has punched walls’ and ‘he says he will never hurt her, as long as she does what he wants’.

A spokesman for New Fathers 4 Justice, who are currently camped outside of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Oxfordshire constituency home in protest an inequality in father’s rights, said: ‘Northumbria Police are disgracefully using out of date gender stereotypes and are living in the dark ages turning a blind eye to modern day life.

‘New Fathers 4 Justice want nothing less than a legal presumption of equal contact for a child with their parents if they split up, and the abolition of the deeply controversial, undemocratic secret court system that still exists within the “family” division despite forty years of inequality and protest.

People also took to social media to hit out at Northumbria Police, who created the posters in partnership with Police Crime Commissioner Vera Baird.

They called for the post to be taken down from the force’s social media pages and accused them of being ‘sexist’ and ‘discriminating’.

One Facebook user Andrew John Wills wrote: ‘All six posters published by Northumbria Police imply it’s a male perpetrator and the victims are either women or children.’

Adam Armstrong wrote: ‘More gender-discriminatory sexism.’

‘Sexist’: Protesters threatened to take part in ‘guerrilla-style’ demonstrations against Northumbria Police after the notices (pictured) were shared on Twitter

A Northumbria police spokesman said they would consider the feedback they had received from the campaign.

He said: ‘Coercive control is a recently recognised form of domestic abuse and is used by perpetrators to control every part of someone’s life, it can be financial control, constant criticism, isolation from family and friends.

‘The offence isn’t limited to just one gender or sexual orientation, anyone can be a victim of coercive control.

‘Our initial focus, so far, has mainly been on women as the victims of this offence- as in the vast majority of cases where domestic abuse is reported to the police – the victims are women.

‘That said, we do acknowledge there are male victims out there and would encourage anyone who suffers domestic violence to contact police and seek help and support.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3378676/Police-accused-sexism-new-anti-domestic-violence-campaign-refers-male-attackers.html#ixzz3vvCNInfp

Northumbria police accused of sexism in domestic abuse poster campaign

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/northumbria-police-accused-sexism-domestic-10663534

Campaign group New Fathers 4 Justice threaten ‘guerilla-style protests’ in response to Northumbria police posters which referred to abusers as ‘he’

Northumbria Police has been accused of sexism in a poster campaign designed to highlight domestic abuse.

The force was criticised by social media users after images referred to abusers as ‘he’ in posts designed to highlight new legislation on coercive and controlling behaviour.

Campaigners said the messages ‘he has never hit his partner, but he has punched walls’ and ‘he says he will never hurt her, as long as she does what he wants’ are biased and offensive.

The group New Fathers 4 Justice said: “Northumbria Police are disgracefully using out of date gender stereotypes and are living in the dark ages turning a blind eye to modern day life.

“Violence is violence, no matter who it’s aimed at and assaults by wives and girlfriends are often ignored by police and media.”

The force which created the posters in partnership between with Police Crime Commissioner Vera Baird, faced a backlash on its Facebook page after posts referred to a man abusing a woman.

Mark Kenyon wrote: “Disappointingly this advert implies that the perpetrators are all men, and that this is only capable of being a female targeting crime,” while Chris Frost said: “These posters are a joke . . . always ‘he’ never ‘her’. Men suffer abuse from women too.”

A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said it had received a number of complaints and the force will consider the responses ‘going forwards’.

They said the initial focus was on women as in the vast majority of cases reported to the police, women are the victims.

The spokesperson said: “The offence isn’t limited to just one gender or sexual orientation, anyone can be a victim of coercive control.

“We do acknowledge there are male victims out there and would encourage anyone who suffers domestic violence to contact police and seek help and support.”

New Fathers 4 Justice – which is not affiliated to Fathers 4 Justice – have made a complaint to Northumbria Police and have threatened ‘guerrilla-style protests’ at police stations and locations where the posters are displayed.

The group which campaigns for separated parents to have equal contact with children have targeted the police poster which reads, ‘He says he’d never hurt the children, unless she tries to leave.”

New Fathers 4 Justice said: “Isn’t coercive control a mother denying a father access to his children? Or do Northumbria Police think only men use children to manipulate women? Tell that to all the dads who couldn’t see their kids this Christmas.”

Members of the campaign group are currently camped outside of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Oxfordshire constituency home in protest an inequality in father’s rights.

Activists camp outside David Cameron’s house in Dean in fathers’ rights protest

By Charlotte  Smith

Campaigners for fathers’ rights have started a protest camp outside the prime minister’s house.

New Fathers 4 Justice (NF4J), Stop The War on Dads and other parenting organisations have returned to David Cameron’s home in Oxfordshire to raise awareness of equal rights for fathers and the family court laws.

Last Christmas New Fathers 4 Justice camped outside the prime minister’s Witney consistency property for a week, where months later David Cameron claimed his house is “falling apart” due to damage by protesters.

A New Fathers 4 Justice spokesperson said: “In his Christmas speech David Cameron mentioned the importance of families but ignores the rights of fathers to see their children after family breakdown.

“We need to remind him that in 2010 David Cameron promised a presumption of contact for fathers with their children after family breakdown, but the Government has failed to keep that promise in The Children and Families Act 2014 which was implemented on 22 April 2014.”

The campaigners arrived around 3pm on Sunday (27^th December) to set up camp with food, with plans on staying there until the new year.

Bringing ladders with them, the organisations are expecting the unexpected after last month’s protest of fathers’ rights activists, Bobby Smith and Martin Matthews, scaling the Queen’s gallery in Buckingham Palace, despite high amount of police officers following the horrific Paris terror attacks.

The UK-based group campaign against parental alienation and highlights the injustice fathers face in the current family court system.

“Christmas is a very emotional time when you aren’t able to see your children or grandchildren. Many of whom will go through the formalities of buying presents for their and children and grandchildren and putting them under the tree, hoping above hope that they will see them.

“Not seeing your children and being denied access to them is like a living bereavement.”

During the protest the group held up banners, which read ‘having a dad is a child’s human right!’

The fathers are dressed in Father Christmas outfits and believe no parent who is fit and willing should be denied their right to share equally in the lives of their own children.

Refugee of the family courts and active protester, Bobby Smith, 33, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, said: “When parents separate, whether they are married or not, unless the mother or father has convictions of violence, sexual assaults or any other serious concerns, which is a small minority, it should be 50:50 contact.

“People think myself and other people who protest are the solution, it gives people hope. When you aren’t seeing your kids some people turn to drink, they stop working and all that so they can’t go out and protest, which can make them depressed.

“It’s always better to have both parents if you can, people’s lives would be better if they could get contact with both.”

Bobby Smith stood against David Cameron in the Prime Minister’s constituency of Witney, Oxfordshire, in May’s general election dressed as Sesame Street character, Elmo.

The activist previously climbed Westminster Abbey on Father’s Day.

According to New Fathers 4 Justice, over 4 million children did not see one of their parents on Christmas day due to family breakdown.

Speaking on the main aims of the campaign group a spokesman added: “We want nothing less than a legal presumption of equal contact for a child with their parents if they split up, and the abolition of the deeply controversial, undemocratic secret court system that still exists within the ‘family’ division despite forty years of inequality and protest.

“In the 21st century fathers deserve more equality after family breakdown as much as women do in the workplace, but the rights of fathers to share equally in the lives of their children have been ignored by successive Governments.”

New Fathers 4 Justice target EastEnders: ‘We plan to put an activist on the Queen Vic dressed as Elmo’

The activist group campaign for fathers’ rights to have access to their children and regularly make protest, often dressed as fictional characters, as they fight for a change in the law to address what they see as injustice towards dads.

And, according to the Borehamwood Times, they are now heading to Walford to scale the Queen Vic for their latest high profile action.

Peter Moore, the spokesperson for the group, explained: ‘We’d like nothing more than to be simply with our families this Christmas happy in the knowledge our children would grow up with equal rights, but until anything is done, this is the only way anyone takes any notice of our message.

He added: ‘We are going to target the EastEnders set and we have planned for a while to attempt to put an activist on the Queen Vic or another well-known EastEnders building dressed in an Elmo costume and have several options.

‘We had one activist on the set in the summer as an extra taking pictures and another had been on a bus tour to the studios.’

Negotiators arrive at the Fathers For Justice protest on the roof of Buckingham Palace. Featuring: View Where: London, United Kingdom When: 29 Nov 2015 Credit: WENN.com

New Fathers 4 Justice are reportedly eyeing up the Queen Vic as their latest target for a public protest. 

Due to the heavy filming schedules and tight deadlines, it is likely that any such action would heavily disrupt the work of the cast and crew on set.

New Fathers 4 Justice target EastEnders: ‘We plan to put an activist on the Queen Vic dressed as Elmo’

EastEnders set could be targeted by New Fathers 4 Justice activists

ALBERT SQUARE has seen plenty of action over the years as the set of BBC One’s hit soap EastEnders, but the famous set could be at the centre of a real life drama this month – if New Fathers 4 Justice activists have anything to do with it.

The father’s rights group have revealed they are planning to target the EastEnders set as part of their latest campaign.

The activists – who fight for father’s rights to see their children – have already targeted Elstree Studios in Borehamwood and are now plotting to ambush the set of the East London-based soap.

The invasion of the studios comes as the group are planning a family court protest later this month.

The national spokesperson for New Fathers 4 Justice, Peter Moore, said: “We’d like nothing more than to be simply with our families this Christmas happy in the knowledge our children would grow up with equal rights, but until anything is done, this is the only way anyone takes any notice of our message.”

He then revealed: “We are going to target the EastEnders set and we have planned for a while to attempt to put an activist on the Queen Vic or another well-known EastEnders building dressed in an Elmo costume and have several options.”

Referring to their past demonstrations on the same site, Peter explained: “We had one activist on the set in the summer as an extra taking pictures and another had been on a bus tour to the studios.”

However, Peter’s claims that the group have already accessed the set could be false, as an EastEnders’ insider told Digital Spy the show doesn’t run tour buses to the studios.

The hit drama series is just the latest in a long list of famous landmarks that have been targeted by the group. Just last week, activists Martin Matthews, 48, and Bobby Smith, 33, managed to climb on top of the Queen’s Gallery roof in London.

http://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/625991/EastEnders-set-targeted-by-New-Fathers-4-Justice-activists-BBC-One-Soap-Danny-Dyer

The EastEnders set could be targeted by New Fathers 4 Justice

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a776918/the-eastenders-set-could-be-targeted-by-new-fathers-4-justice/

Rights group plan to disrupt filming while dressed as Elmo.

Albert Square could be under threat from New Fathers 4 Justice, after it was revealed that the rights group plan to target the EastEnders set.

The group, which campaigns for fathers’ rights to see their children, have already targeted Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, and are now turning their attentions to the BBC soap set, the Borehamwood Times reports.

They are preparing to assemble at the studios in a family court protest later this month.​

Peter Moore, who is the national spokesperson for New Fathers 4 Justice, said: “We’d like nothing more than to be simply with our families this Christmas happy in the knowledge our children would grow up with equal rights, but until anything is done, this is the only way anyone takes any notice of our message.”

He added: “We are going to target the EastEnders set and we have planned for a while to attempt to put an activist on the Queen Vic or another well-known EastEnders building dressed in an Elmo costume and have several options.

“We had one activist on the set in the summer as an extra taking pictures and another had been on a bus tour to the studios.”

However, the group’s claims to have already accessed the set have been called into question by insiders at ​EastEnders​, who told ​Digital Spy​ that the soap doesn’t run any bus tours to the studios.