Lesbian policewoman sues force for discrimination
A lesbian policewoman is suing the British Transport Police for not allowing her girlfriend to work with her.
Sergeant Jasmine Stewart claims that heterosexual couples were allowed to work together but she was told by Inspector Terry Reene: “People here wouldn’t like it, you two being a couple.”
Stewart and her partner Mhairi Gilchrist were allowed to work together at Ashford Police Station in 2006 after Stewart threatened to begin a grievance procedure.
However, she is claiming that the pair were sexually discriminated against, saying they were the butt of jokes for being lesbians and the decision to allow them to work together prompted hostility from other officers.
According to the Daily Telegraph, she said: “There were comments made on a daily basis like ‘I don’t know why you want to go to one of those meetings – it’s for the poofs’.”
Benjamin Uduje, representing the force, said that the request to work together had initially been turned down because it was thought to be inappropriate that two officers in a relationship should work so closely together.
He added that the force had always accepted Stewart’s sexuality and had been sympathetic to her childcare needs.
The hearing continues.
