British Catholic journalist Caroline Farrow is facing police investigation after allegedly “misgendering” on Twitter.
The offense?
She referenced a transgender woman by the wrong pronoun.
The tweets followed Farrow’s appearance on “Good Morning Britain” with transgender activist Susie Green, whose daughter Jackie is transgender. The debate centered around the Girl Guides’ choice to allow kids who have changed gender to join.
“I don’t even remember said tweets! I probably said ‘he’ or ‘son’ or something,” said Farrow of the comments.
The journalist called the pending criminal investigation an “outrage” earlier this week, adding, “I can’t sleep I am so furious.”
“According to the police I ‘misgendered’ which implies that I used the wrong pronouns/nouns and this potentially constitutes a criminal offense,” said Farrow. “Let that sink in.”
“All I know is that the police want to conduct a taped interview under caution because of tweets I sent ‘misgendering Susie Green’s daughter following a GMB interview,’ ” the journalist explained. “That’s all I have been told. I know I haven’t ever tweeted Jackie Green directly or directed any abuse at them.”
Farrow expressed confusion over the accusation, noting that somehow the discussion on GMB was not illegal, but the follow-up tweets were.
Here’s the GMB interview the police referred to. From what I understand this wasn’t illegal but some follow-up tweets were. https://t.co/suOELE7aSK
— Caroline Farrow (@CF_Farrow) March 18, 2019
The journalist claims Surrey Police told her they “want to conduct a taped interview under caution” due to September’s tweets, and if she declines, she will be arrested.
“A thorough investigation is being carried out to establish whether any criminal offenses have taken place,” a police spokesman confirmed.
Though Farrow explained her stance on gender change stems from her religious beliefs, authorities have been unwilling to back down on the investigation.
“I have pointed out to police that I am a Catholic journalist/commentator and it is my religious belief that a person cannot change sex,” she shared. “We are in the middle of a national conversation about what it means to be male and what it means to be female.”
Green, who reported Farrow to the police, has stated that the reasoning is not due to her daughter being misgendered, but rather because “a journalist with a public platform used that to send very deliberate, malicious messages.”
“It’s not just the misgendering, it’s actually the context she puts it into — she calls me a child abuser,” said Green on the “Victoria Derbyshire” show.
‘She sent very deliberately malicious and nasty messages’
Founder of trans charity Mermaids- Susie Green – on tweets journalist Caroline Farrow sent about her daughter, who transitioned as a teen.
She explains why she reported the tweets to the police. pic.twitter.com/mB4QWzJCF1
— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) March 20, 2019
However, Farrow denied the accusations in a tweet saying, “Whatever Susie Green claims on @vicderbyshire all I have been told is that I ‘misgendered her daughter.’ I am under police investigation. I cannot comment.”
Thing is, I try really hard not to misgender people. So if I did so it was inadvertent and Freudian. I can’t help think of a teenager who is having their penis and testicles removed, as male. Mea maxima culpa.
— Caroline Farrow (@CF_Farrow) March 19, 2019
The mother of five is further disturbed by the fact that she has received violent and sexual threats against her family without any legal action being taken against offenders.
There are real questions to be asked about how much power and influence Susie Green is able to exercise over the police force. A man doxed my children & ex. Made violent & sexually humiliating threats. Nothing done.
— Caroline Farrow (@CF_Farrow) March 19, 2019
In spite of ongoing threats and accusations, Farrow is standing by her ground, saying, “I have done nothing wrong, nothing illegal and will happily do jail time for my right to say that people cannot change sex.”
