Charity calls police after a teacher 'misgenders' a trans pupil and say he has committed a 'hate crime'

UK Daily Mail  

Stock photo

"A charity called in police to deal with a teacher who ‘misgendered’ a pupil.

Mermaids, which supports children who believe they were born in the wrong body, said the teacher had committed a ‘hate crime’ because he did not address the child using his new gender.

"The youngster, who had switched from female to male, wanted staff and pupils at his school to accept his new identity.

"Under the Equality Act, schools have a duty to accommodate transgender pupils and make sure they do not suffer upset or bullying. According to Mermaids the teacher often failed to use the correct gender pronouns for the boy – he, him and his. The charity said the reminders of his past as a girl had caused the boy to become depressed.

"Volunteers from Mermaids intervened on behalf of the boy, and when the teacher refused to accept their point of view, they called police. Susie Green, who heads the charity, told the Times Educational Supplement the tough action was necessary to protect the boy’s mental health. She said: ‘We had to get the police involved because a young student was being regularly misgendered by his tutor. 

"The tutor dismissed it until he was informed that it counted as a hate crime." . . .

Read more