Interim guidance issued by the NPCC regarding police conduct during strip-searches has raised alarm over the potential for increased assaults against transgender individuals. The guidelines suggest that officers conducting 'intimate searches' should match the sex assigned at birth of the person being searched, which effectively means trans women would be searched by cisgender men. Critics, including Netpol, argue that this could escalate fears of violence and deepen systemic injustices against the LGBTQ+ community, despite provisions for requests for searches by officers of the same 'lived gender'.
The interim guidance 'leaves trans and non-binary people in fear of being assaulted by police during routine searches' and 'opens the door to abuse', Netpol's Kat Hobbs claimed.
We already know that LGBTQ+ people are at greater risk of police violence but making it harder for people to have their gender respected while in custody deepens this systemic injustice.
The NPCC has introduced guidance that allows trans people to request an officer consistent with their 'lived gender', but this is restricted by several conditions.
The interim guidance could risk an increase in the number of assaults against trans people, as it suggests these individuals may be searched by officers of the opposite sex.
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