Nick Ferrari clashes with Labour MP over whether wolf-whistling is a hate crime
10 March 2020, 11:13 | Updated: 10 March 2020, 11:49
Nick Ferrari clashed with Labour MP Stella Creasy over whether the act of wolf-whistling should be considered a hate crime.
The Walthamstow MP is currently campaigning to make misogyny a crime, with a specific focus on putting an end to women being wolf-whistled at.
Ms Creasy is set to host an event for the cause which has received the backing of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
She explained that in Nottingham, misogyny is on a list of hateful behaviours and that acts like wolf-whistling should be considered public harassment.
The Walthamstow MP said "often women can't win" and that she believed it should be in the same category as racial or religious abuse.
"I will stop campaigning on making misogyny a hate crime," she added, "when I go to the wedding of a couple who met because they say, 'well, he followed me down the street trying to grab my breasts and I thought it was the most charming thing a stranger could do'."
Ms Creasy then claimed that two-thirds of young girls talk about being hassled on the street on a daily basis, which leads to them living in fear when nothing is seen to be done about tackling the issue.
She said, "If that sort of behaviour happened to me in the workplace as a woman, I'd be protected. But as soon as I step out on to the street, I'm not," to which Nick replied, "But you are."
The Walthamstow MP added that wolf-whistling should be recorded and criminalised in the same way as other forms of abuse, such as grabbing a woman's breasts, much to the disbelief of Nick.
He asked, "Are you sure?" as the pair repeatedly clashed over the gravity of wolf-whistling and whether it should be mentioned in the same breath as religious abuse, racial abuse, or even murder.
"I don't know that we want to live in a country where you get recorded for wolf-whistling," Nick said.
