Stella Creasy, a Labour MP, was subject to a social services investigation after a man who disagreed with her views reported her to Leicestershire police. Although social services decided no action should be taken against Creasy, the man who reported her will not face criminal sanctions.
According to Creasy, the police informed her that charges wouldn't be pressed against him as he's “entitled” to his opinion that her children should be removed from her. Here, she writes for GLAMOUR about the worrying precedent this sets for women in the public eye, their children's safety, and their right to free speech…
Being disagreed with is part of the job of being an MP. Whether it’s government MPs in the House of Commons, discussions with my constituents, or even on Facebook, daily life is full of feedback from people on everything and anything – from the work I do on violence against women and girls to bike lanes and bin collections as well as international events and even my taste in music. And that’s a good thing; democracy relies on people being able to agree and disagree, and debate how to address the important issues facing our country.
Free speech has always been critical to public life because, often, it’s the best way to understand how to change something for the better. That’s why as a politician being able to hear the widest range of views on something is critical because it gives you the best chance of finding the solutions we need. That’s also why those who seek to claim they are trying to debate but actually seek to intimidate pose such a threat to our democracy. Because the noise they make in harassing those they disagree with doesn’t just affect their targets – it drowns out our capacity to hear anything at all.
Earlier this year, I experienced one of the worst examples of this, when a man tried to get my children taken away for no reason other than that he disagreed with me over the measures which are needed to tackle the epidemic of violence against women and girls. He has been emailing my office to express his anger over the work I had been doing to make misogyny part of our hate crime legislation – not satisfied when I wouldn’t stop because of his views, he decided to target my children instead.
The vote takes place today.
Demanding someone’s children are removed from their care because you disagree with them is not a reasonable way to express dissent. His conduct has left my children with a social services record, and sadly I know I’m not the only woman in the public eye who has had her family targeted in this way by those who think our voices should not be heard. Yet most worryingly of all, when his multiple attacks were reported to the police, they backed his ‘right’ to target me in this way because they agreed it was reasonable to believe my political campaigning may pose a threat to my children.
Leicestershire police refused to prosecute this person for harassment because they argued that as someone in the public eye, I should expect to be on the receiving end of behaviour like this. There was no recognition of the impact this could have on my children or of the danger that this poses to a free and fair democratic debate. In essence, they argued my job as a politician makes my children fair game for anyone and everyone who disagrees with what I am saying.
In speaking out about this experience, I have heard from women in all different walks of public life who have faced similar behaviour – often stemming from anonymous reports to social services or police. Rather than focusing on those carrying out this harassment, the focus is continually placed on those individuals who are being harassed.
The onus is still being placed on women.
Free speech requires that both sides of a conversation feel able to express themselves equally. It cannot exist in an environment in which half of the debate is living in fear of what the consequences might be for them and their families if they speak out.
Women in the public eye have been the targets for huge amounts of abuse – especially if they are a woman of colour or disabled – just for existing. In trying to tackle this individually, we can’t win – constantly criticised for speaking out, being ‘difficult’ or ‘pushy’ or told to know our limits. Yet then to complain is taken as a sign of weakness, or that we somehow can’t hack it.
No one can have those important debates and the vital scrutiny and stress testing of ideas they offer if we don’t stop the abuse so we can hear the arguments.
That’s why stopping these behaviours has to be a responsibility for everyone, not just those who are targeted. We collectively need to set a clear line beyond which it is no longer debate – it is abuse – and each uphold it. Exactly where we place this line is something which will rightly be a subject for discussion, but a good starting point for should be that our children should be off limits.
We need the police to do better at ensuring that when someone is seeking to go beyond these limits, and act to protect our democracy. If you agree please join us in speaking out and standing with those doing so.
A spokesperson for Leicestershire Police told BBC News: "Leicestershire Police takes any report of harassment extremely seriously and will carry out a full investigation into the report and take the appropriate action.
"The force remains fully committed to keeping women and girls safe, listening to concerns and tackling violence."
Stella Creasy is the Labour MP for Walthamstow.
