The War on Women in the Media

25th July 2021

A recent article by Julie Bindel was changed to refer to a male sex offender as ‘she’, misrepresenting a woman who bravely told her story of being assaulted in prison. In a sinister move direct quotes from the woman called Amy were changed by the Daily Mail because her male attacker identified as a woman.

Julie Bindel @bindelj

PS The editor changed the pronouns to 'she' from 'he' (my interviewee, Amy, referred to the sex offender correctly as 'he') because they knew they could be taken to court and have to bat off loads of complaints if they didn't, but it was not my choice:

dailymail.co.uk‘I was assaulted in a women’s prison by an inmate with male genitalia’Amy was equally well aware that ‘J’ still had male genitalia because she often intimidated her and fellow female prisoners at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Middlesex, by exposing them.

In the UK, IPSO (Independent press standards organisation) do not take women into account when it comes to their guidance. This is also a problem caused by the police and courts recording men as female. Men who have committed crimes, but identify otherwise, are referred to as women in both headlines and articles, often with no indication that they are males. This is not only an insult to women, but misrepresents how common it is for women to commit these crimes, and creates uncertainty and confusion in reporting. Most importantly it gaslights victims who have experienced male violence and should be able to tell their stories in their own words.

Call to Action

• Write to your Police and Crime Commissioner, or equivalent in your area, and ask that sex is accurately recorded, and therefore accurately reported in the media. More information on this action is available here.

• Complain to news outlets every time you see this inaccurate reporting.

• Contact emails and complaints pages of the most popular news outlets in the UK are listed below.

The Times: feedback@thetimes.co.uk

Sunday Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/static/the-sunday-times-editorial-complaints

Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/contact-us/editorial-complaints/

Daily Mail/Mail Online/Mail on Sunday: corrections@mailonline.co.uk

Daily Mirror/Sunday Mirror/Sunday People/Mirror Online: feedback@mirror.co.uk

The Sun: editorialcomplaints@the-sun.co.uk

Daily Star: starletters@dailystar.co.uk

Daily Express/Sunday Express: express.expressletters@reachplc.com

The Metro: correct@ukmetro.co.uk

BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/contact/complaints

The Guardian: guardian.readers@theguardian.com

Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/service/contact-us-759589.html

The i newspaper: reader@inews.co.uk

Evening Standard: https://www.standard.co.uk/service/code-of-conduct-complaints-7467885.html