Caroline ffiske was a Conservative Councillor for Eight Years. Published on 23 February 2021.

This weekend provided examples of just how bad it has become. Many women in this country now feel deeply worried, scared even. Rather than making us feel safe, the police are contributing to a feeling of deep unease.

This weekend, an outfit calling themselves the National LGBT+ Police Network  tweeted a short commemoration of TIM (trans-identifying-man) Roberta Cowell.  I commented, saying 'He walked out on his children one day and they never saw him again. Late in life he said he regretted what he had done.' @LGBTpoliceUK suggested that I refrain from misgendering. 

When I responded again, a bit later, things got worrying. I said something obvious: 'biological sex is binary & immutable & matters profoundly for the safety of women'.  The police reps replied: 'Our network in no way condones or supports any comments made from your account Caroline. We believe that trans men are men, trans women are women and non binary people are fabulous'. 

Let's unpick that. 

• In response to me saying that biological sex is binary and immutable, the police response is that they do not condone or support my comment. 
• In response to me saying that biological sex matters profoundly for the safety of women, the police response is that they do not condone or support my comment.
• Then the police say 'trans women are women'.
  

No wonder we are starting to feel unsafe. 

The latter statement is unhinged from any grounding in science. Let us be clear that it is a form of ideological extremism - and it is coming from our police. If transwomen (trans-identifying-men) are women; with no ifs and no buts and no caution or concern, here is what it means. Male prisoners can self-identify into women's prisons. Men can self-identify into women's refuges and safe-spaces. A man can 'self-identify' to demand that he be handled (e.g. searched) by female police officers. Men can self-identify into women's changing rooms, and into women's loos in noisy crowded pubs and nightclubs. Men can self-identify into women's hospital wards. Men can self-identify into intimate health-care services for women... All of this not just condoned, but actively promoted, by representatives of the police. And we are meant to feel safe? 

Then, if you want to challenge all this: politely; grounded in science and reason; proferring concepts of fairness and boundaries and competing rights; that route slowly closes off too. Over the same weekend, the police force in Wirral paraded a sign telling us that it is an offence to be offensive.  Some people consider 'misgendering' to be offensive; pointing out that a 'trans-woman' is a biological male to be offensive... See where this quickly heads? No wonder someone tweeted 'That's one of the most chilling things I've ever seen. This makes me afraid of the police - well done'.   

Of course, the police in Wirral are wrong and have admitted it.   However, it indicates the sheer scale of institutional capture. Remember the story of the Emperor with no clothes? When the Wirral police: planned their sign; worked up the copy; ordered the van and billboard; booked the slot; took the photo; posted on social media;... was there no-one, no-one, in their midst who could tell them they were grossly misrepresenting the law? When practically every user on twitter could do so? 

The situation is unacceptable. It is making women feel deeply worried; legitimately scared. At ConservativesforWomen we will be writing to our MPs and to the Minister for Policing, Kit Malthouse and we will ask them to act. We will also write to the Independent Office for Police Conduct to complain.  We will ask that the conduct of the LGBT+ Police Network - and the Wirral Police - be investigated.

We will point out, again, that gender ideology, and the denial of the reality of biological sex, places women in danger. Please do the same - and let us know how you get on.