[Crimson Dynamo]

Devout Catholic 'who used wrong pronoun to describe transgender girl'
to be interviewed by police




When Caroline Farrow, a Catholic commentator, and transgender rights campaigner Susie Green,
agreed to take part in a television debate about a controversial Girl Guides policy, producers
would have expected differences of opinion.

But while the conversation on screen was certainly heated, it was what happened off-air when
the pair continued the debate on Twitter that resulted in a six-month-long police investigation.

Mrs Farrow, a mother of five with strong religious views, allegedly used the wrong pronoun when
referring to Ms Green's transgender daughter.

Ms Green was so angered by what she described as a "distressing and spiteful" attack that she
lodged a formal complaint with Surrey police.

On Monday night, they contacted Mrs Farrow and asked her to attend a voluntary police interview.

The response by a police force which, like all others, is struggling to cope with violent crime
and knife violence, will raise eyebrows and further fuel the debate around police priorities.





In November Sara Thornton, head of the National Police Chief's Council, warned that the increasing
focus on investigating hate crime was putting a strain on resources at a time when forces were
struggling to deal with rising levels of violence.

Her comments were echoed by the Met Commissioner, Cressida Dick, who also said police officers ought
to prioritise the issues that people cared about most, such as violence and knife crime.

But campaigners who support transgender rights insist it is the police's place to bear down on those
alleged to flout the Equalities Act and seek to cause harm and distress to vulnerable people.

Dr Jane Hamlin, president of the Beaumont Society, a charity which supports trans people, said that
mis-gendering is "very hurtful".

"People sometimes do it by accident, even my friends accidentally get it wrong but they always
apologise immediately afterwards.

"But to do it publicly like that, it's dreadfully thoughtless and certainly something that should not be done."




Mrs Farrow also pointed out that since the row had blown up on Twitter she and her
family had been subjected to abuse and threats by internet trolls.

She said one had even published photographs that identified her children as well as
bombarding her with sexually humiliating insults.

Ms Green's daughter, Jackie, 25, became the youngest person in Britain to transition
when she changed her sex from male to female almost 10 years ago.

Since then, Jackie has reached the semi-finals of Miss England and models around the
world, describing herself as "just a normal girl with a bit of an interesting history".

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...s-twitter-row/