British police have announced that they will be dropping their investigation into a Catholic journalist who was shocked to be contacted by authorities after allegedly “misgendering” a trans child on Twitter. Caroline Farrow took to Twitter after Surrey Police notified her that they had opened an inquiry into an allegation of “misgendering” after Farrow appeared on a British talk show and debated with a trans activist, Susie Green.
Surrey Police said they followed up the complaint because they had a “duty of care to fully investigate all allegations which are reported to us,” according to Christian Today. “The original allegation has subsequently been withdrawn and no further action will be taken in relation to this matter.”
Farrow talked about her ordeal on “Good Morning Britain,” noting that, when the police knocked on her door and informed her she would be investigated over the tweet, she was “terrified and shaking.”
“I couldn’t breathe,” she said. “I thought, ‘they are going to try and make a test case out of this one.'”
What is the background?
Caroline Farrow was contacted by authorities after her appearance on “Good Morning Britain,” in which she engaged in a debate with transgender activist Susie Green, who has a trans child. Following this appearance, which took place last September, Farrow allegedly referred to Green’s daughter, Jackie, by the wrong pronoun.
In a series of tweets, Farrow noted that the police had told her she would “need to be interviewed under caution for misgendering Susie Green’s child.”
https://twitter.com/CF_Farrow/status/1107779649566900231?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1107779649566900231&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.faithwire.com%2F2019%2F03%2F19%2Fjournalist-criminally-investigated-for-allegedly-using-the-wrong-pronoun-in-tweet%2F
Farrow pointed out that, since the police announce that they would be taking action against her, online trolls have been sending the mother of five horrific, expletive-laden and sexually violent messages. And while the police are highly concerned about Farrow’s alleged misgendering, they appear unbothered by this onslaught of cyber abuse.
https://twitter.com/CF_Farrow/status/1107789431291944961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1107789431291944961&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.faithwire.com%2F2019%2F03%2F19%2Fjournalist-criminally-investigated-for-allegedly-using-the-wrong-pronoun-in-tweet%2F
“I have done nothing wrong, nothing illegal and will happily do jail time for my right to say that people cannot change sex,” Farrow wrote. “I have pointed out to the police that I am a Catholic journalist/commentator and it is my religious belief that a person cannot change sex. That we are in the middle of a national conversation about what it means to be male and what it means to be female.”
Farrow later updated her Twitter once again, summarizing the case against her: “I can’t sleep I am so furious,” she wrote last week. “According to the police I ‘misgendered’ which implies that I used the wrong pronouns/nouns and this potentially constitutes a criminal offence. Let that sink in.”
What is the UK law on offensive communications?
Under the wide-ranging and wildly Malicious Communications Act 1988, it can be considered an offense to send an electronic communication which contains:
“(i) a message which is indecent or grossly offensive;
(ii) a threat; or
(iii) information which is false and known or believed to be false by the sender.”
A person who is found guilty of this offense can be subject, upon “conviction on indictment” to “imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine (or both).”
Having allegedly engaged in misgendering, Farrow says she is “not in breach” of this piece of legislation.