Beth and Weinstein
Today we continue with our police and p*nises series, #PAP.
We present two more accounts: one in which the UK police failed to take seriously unsolicited nudes being sent as part of grooming gang’s abuse; and another in the US, the Weinstein case, where the police showed exactly why ALL police need to stop being so squeamish about male appendages.
This problem was highlighted to me personally when I was subjected to a number of livestreamed incidents, some of which I managed to screen shot. I offered to send the screen shots, and the young male officer I was reporting to seemed not only to find it all a bit funny (it wasn’t - the intent behind it was shocking) but was adamant that he wouldn’t pass the pictures internally to colleagues. (Part of me feels that had it been a naked woman or two, their reticence would have been considerably less!)
But it’s not just me!!
Beth’s story
Beth bravely stepped forward to tell CAAGe part of her story of being abused by a gang of taxi driver groomers in Wales (white Welshmen, note – grooming gangs are not all Asian! See also Epstein, Weinstein and more).
When she reported the part of the abuse that included sending her images of men’s p*nises, she was visited by police officers who not only giggled, but made it obvious that they had no intention of investigating at that stage. Sound familiar?
C’mon guys, grow up!!
The Weinstein case
Hurrah!
This was the first case I found in which p*nis shape was presented as evidence.
Many women testified that Weinstein had a p*nis that looked unusual – describing it as ‘cut off and sewn back on’, lacking testicles, and even as looking like a vagina.
The pictures were seen as ‘not for public consumption’ and jurors were drawn looking shocked. But evidence it was, and it helped convict him and give credence to the victim's stories.
We - or at least the police -MUST stop regarding the male p*nis as a sacred cow that no-one can discuss as a distinguishing feature. These pictures offer lots of clues as to skin colour, height of abuser etc. This needs to stop being a ‘sacred cow’ and officers need training . In the Weinstein case it was crucial, verifying evidence.
Note: Ironically, CAAGe has had to remove a letter in the word p*nis because search engines appear to have the smae sensibilities as the police!