Wolf whistling - a hate crime ??

No, anybody receiving unwanted, repeated attention for any reason is being harrassed. It works both ways.

vq not one rule for men and one rule for women.
Simply that misogyny is all too common, and misandry comparatively rare.

vampirequeen Do women whistle at men? Perhaps. Not only have I never felt a need to, I can't whistle – or ride a bike, the two, apparently, going hand in hand (as it were).

More seriously, I don't think the occasional whistle at a woman is a hate crime, but it is certainly tiresome and can be distressing, particularly if it is a regular or frequent occurrence or accompanied by harassment or nasty comments. That's still probably not hate crime, but I am not clear what the law says about that sort of stuff.

Title of a piece in the Times this morning: "Ban wolf-whistling, except for over-50 women like me". Chortle. I'll go read it and get back to you if its contents are good.

Yes, I know, it's not that simple, pedants. It looks promising as a piss-take and you know how I love those

Yes, it's worth a read. It's by Kathy Lette and she got in a plug for her new book at the end.

I can't quite see how you can call a wolf whistle a hate crime, but like a lot of these thing it is the context of the behaviour.

Too much of this behaviour taken to the level of intimidation, as described by others, is wrong and can feel very threatening. Getting the balance of this issue right needs careful thought, certainly not a knee jerk response of making it a crime.

It's funny when they wolf whistle at your back, then their faces drop if you turn round and they see you're a granny

To call a wolf whistle a 'hate crime' is to trivialise the meaning of the term.

Sexual banter, especially in the workplace has been extinguished and wolf whistling etc frowned upon, many building sites have a code of conduct and proudly display it on notices on the gates etc.

As we emasculate our men in the name of restricting 'hate' we find a rise in the viewing of pornography on the internet, which people can pay f or and view without much chase of being chastised (they have to pay extra for that).........we are making sex another thing to be worried about and for the authorities to mediate. In the meantime, young women too drunk to stand and wearing next to nothing, lie in the gutters and then moan when they feel they may have been assaulted.

Talk about mixed messages.

moobox,

I think that much worse than wolf whistle is the way almost everything is described as sexy.some cars are sexy some food is sexy if things are not sexy they can be sexed up,whatever that means. (I would probably faint if I were wolf whistled )I am so past that

A hate crime? What a load of old codswallop.

Don't think it has been eradicated from all workplaces radicalnan. I used to follow "everyday sexism" on Twitter and there were many examples of workplaces in which, for instance, remarks about "tits" were happening.

Oh dear, if only that was all we would have to worry about. I tell you what is hurtful, when someone wolf whistles you from the back, then when they see the front, you see the look of horror on their faces. I can't resist saying "got yer".

I think that when I was young the wolf whistle was all you got. Just that. But lewd remarks can be offensive and didn't seem to be part of 60s culture. I'm fine with the wolf whistle and maybe the odd " Hello Darlin'", but sexually explicit remarks should not be allowed. Although as one hears the constant use of the F word and the c%%t word, I can't see what the law can do about it.

Totally ridiculous and pandering to the `victim` mentality culture . I used to love getting whistled at , a distant memory now . Women are just as bad for sexualising men , we are not little mice anymore being victimised by big bad men .

Isn't this just one local (female) police chief? Probably blonde.

It's unlikely it will ever happen to me again and, over the years when it did, I can't say I was offended.

However, I do remember when I was a child if about ten, I was waiting at a bus stop after swimming and a truck went past me and the guys all started whistling and calling out to me. It may have been a refuse truck, I can't remember, but I do remember thinking they were out of order with me being just a child.
I suppose what I'm saying is that it is certainly not always an appropriate thing to do.

Strange, but that memory has never left me. It was not something I felt able to express to anyone at the time. This would have been around 1961.
Not a hate crime, just bored guys who were not the brightest. It has always been thus.

I note that most of the people posting do so with the advantage of distance and age. For all those who have said it is OK for men to harass women what if it was your daughter being targeted and subjected not just to whistling, because it doesn't seem to stop there these days, but a barrage of unrepeatable comments from a group of young men. What would you advise these young women to do? Because I am unable to offer my DS's girlfriend anything really except comfort and concern. It isn't always the same men, it is in different areas of London and it is regular. It seems to be part of a culture of thinking of young women as easy targets when the are alone. It is scary and it is unacceptable, but how can we tackle it?

It is never ok to harass anyone, certainly not young vulnerable girls. It is up to everyone to be aware and step up, should they witness it, try to diffuse a difficult situation. If the men are really being offensive, get away from the situation and report it to the police, perhaps a caution would be enough. I hate the way offensive swear words are used in everyday speech one, I switched off a show I like last night on tv, as they peppered the whole show, on channel 4, with the f word.

In my youth I found it to be embarrassing and it was usually followed by a load of jeers and innuendoes.

It is, at best disrespectful!

I was very upset when my teenage daughter got her first wolf-whistle as I was with her and I thought they were whistling at me. Any female who doesn't like being whistled at can give the offender a good telling-off without involving the police. Personally, I always found it encouraging and appreciative!

This does seem rather an over reaction. 'When I was a girl' - many years ago now - we had a manager in the office who was a Geordie. I love that accent - gentle and almost musical - and as he was about the age of a father to all of us young girls he usually ended a sentence with 'pet' - again a comment that I find kindly and warm. He got pulled up about that by one particularly snappy woman and looked stunned and hurt. I think these people do the cause of female equality no good at all as they are petty and unreasonable, and if you can't walk past a building site and cope with a few wolf whistles that's pretty sad. 'Lewd comments no - but a cheeky appreciation of a pretty woman shouldn't be an offence!

Many years ago I wolf whistled (spontaneously) at a man out running in purple shorts. He was extraordinarily pleased.

Goodness with all the very unhappy things happening in this world at the moment a harmless wolf whistle I'd be grateful for ☺️