Female protesters have warned that the policing bill will see ramped-up violence toward them, raising the alarm that the legislation could make police officers more misogynistic and racist.
“The issue is that women have always relied on protests and demonstrations to further our rights and are also more at risk of excesses of police powers,” Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, a leading civil liberties campaign group, told The Independent.
Ms Carlo said the policing bill was introduced against the “backdrop of very well-documented abuses of police powers” and “police violence against women”. The legislation is particularly worrying given the next few years will see increasing protests and unrest over the cost of living crisis, as well as environmental and social justice campaigns, she said.
“The prosecutions of women at the vigil for Sarah Everard are such a clear example of how – even before the policing bill – women can so easily be prosecuted for protest”, Ms Carlo added.
Independent – Female protesters fear policing bill will ramp up officers violence against them