Joan Smith on police indifference to a violent attack on a woman:

Following the assault on Julie Marshall in Aberdeen last weekend, the policy analysis collective Murray Blackburn Mackenzie has written to Sir Iain Livingstone, Police Scotland’s Chief Constable. Their letter asks how the caution [issued to the assaulter] squares with public bodies’ obligations under the European Convention of Human Rights to protect freedom of speech and assembly. Just two months ago, Livingstone admitted the existence of institutional sexism and misogyny at Police Scotland. 

Marshall’s experience points to a very specific problem, however. She has photographs of her injuries and gave a statement to police after the assault, but she was not even informed of the decision to let her assailant off with a warning. It is hard to imagine other circumstances in which an assault, in front of dozens of witnesses and in the presence of police officers, would be treated so lightly. 

The situation seems to be that the women in these situations are viewed by the police as already almost criminals – as at fault, as provoking violence, as having it coming. Women who won’t wheesht are the bullies, the violent, the equivalent of Proud Boys or Nazis or white nationalists. They’re viewed as deserving to be punched in the face by men.

All because they don’t think men are women.

Quite a Catch22, isn’t it. You can’t disagree with men who say they are women, because if you do you become an outlaw with no protection from men who want to (quoting) “punch them in the fucking face” and who put their urge to punch into action when they get the chance.

This is all the more interesting when you keep in mind that women who punch men in the fucking face are unlikely to break anything, while men who punch women in the fucking face are very likely to break something.

Police Scotland claims that handing a caution to Marshall’s assailant is in line with the Lord Advocate’s guidelines which, very conveniently, are not publicly available. But it reinforces the idea that police up and down the country still don’t take violence against women seriously — especially when the victims are feminists.

In fact it reinforces the idea that the police welcome violent against women who know that men are not women.