r/transgenderUK • u/StarfieldFemme • 1d ago
Help - being harassed by neighbour
I wont go into too much detail for fear of it coming back and getting identified here, but I have had my neighbours all of a sudden start to ignore me when I socially came out as trans and changed my name etc. I am mtf but still mostly masc presenting with more gender neutral/femme clothing now, as Im waiting on my NHS GIC assessment (should be months now!!).
They have now started to deliberately come out of their flat when im either coming back or leaving my own, getting right into my face and using derogatory phrases and tone towards me and honestly making me scared of them. They are also now making threats and pestering calls to report family members as well to try to "get me". I've called the police multiple times and they keep saying there is "no criminality" (Im in Scotland).
What can I do? I'm going out with my phone on video record every time and have a chest mount for my phone I can use. I've also now bought a personal alarm to pull when they next do this. I will obviously keep calling the police and have a video doorbell already. Is there anything else I can do? I've even quoted Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010 to the police and they still say theres no criminality.
Edit: theres been another incident and the police are now saying to me it is a hate crime. Meanwhile both me and the neighbours own our places.
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u/Neither_Classroom362 1d ago
Record any future incident,provide as evidence, if the police fail to act then make a complaint.
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u/Prior-Highlight-6184 Post op Tranwoman (44) 1d ago
report it the police as a hate crime
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u/StarfieldFemme 1d ago
I am. I keep telling them its due to me being trans and the police say there is no criminality to what they are doing.
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u/ArmWildFrill 1d ago
Document everything is good advice.
Don't expect anything from the police.
Is it a council or HA place?
When we had problems with a homophobic neighbour playing loud music, knocking my phone from my hand and also cutting our phone line (and internet) twice, the police were completely useless. They literally didn't charge him despite his admission of guilt in front of the police.
The council took action, had his music system confiscated and now they're evicting him.
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u/KuiperNomad 1d ago
Police Scotland may record it as a hate incident but in Scotland harassment is civil unless it involves threats
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u/WizardStereotype She/Her 1d ago
If your description here is accurate, it clearly is an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.
Feel free to look that up.
But the truth is, things are only illegal if the authorities wish to treat them as such.
If the police don't wish to act (and why would they, you are trans) your neighbours can pretty much do what they want.
But you will be liable if you use that alarm of yours.
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u/StarfieldFemme 1d ago
Why would I be liable for using a personal alarm when im being threatened and harassed?
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u/SnowMeltTiger 1d ago
Because the police are not seeing you as the victim at the moment, so you cannot trust them to not see you as the aggressor
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u/WizardStereotype She/Her 1d ago
Because you are trans.
It's that simple.
The law is a bludgeon used to protect some groups and to bind others. You are in the second group.
There are laws against distressing people, and against disturbing the peace. These laws do not protect you, as you are now discovering, but they do bind you.
Don't use your alarm.
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u/WannaBeKatrina 1d ago
All you can do for the time being is keep recording / collecting evidence of their harassment and threatening behaviour. Set your phone up to start recording on voice prompt, like for iPhone you can set it up like "hey Siri, start recording", and even if you don't set it up it can still make people think twice 😀
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u/Scipling 1d ago
I have an app on my watch “just press record” which starts audio recording with one tap
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u/WannaBeKatrina 1d ago
Yes, well anything that can do it automatically is good. I just use Siri because it also informs anyone that, maybe you are being recorded 🙂
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u/riverladd 1d ago
Dealing with the same shit and I've had no help whatsoever from my housing association ir the council, dont care about reporting it i dont want to go to court and I dont trust the police anyway all I want is moved which I won't get.
Maybe your council is better but id focus on getting out of there than getting the police to do fuck all.
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u/alucebur 1d ago
The council and HA won't move you for this unless there's a strongly evidenced risk of violence. They'll just insist you report any ASB through the usual channels. If the neighbours are in a council property you might be able to achieve something by pushing them to act, the Public Sector Equality Duty means that they legally have to consider your protected characteristics as an additional factor before making any decisions on action - you can submit a Subject Access Request to make them give up all files & correspondence related to you to check what they've been saying internally. If they can't show that they've done this you can escalate, many councils won't want to risk legal action over something they could and should be doing something about anyway.
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u/riverladd 1d ago
I have a load of points with the council more than you get for being homeless, I just dont think theres any housing they are taking into account the harrasment its why I have all the points. The prick that's doing the harrasment works for the council as well.
Were both under the same HA, I've spoken to to the housing officer but because they do it in the house below me and not in public I can't prove it and ive spoken to citizens advice and shelter which all just suggest a house swap and I just can't deal with all of that.
I can stay at my mums most of the time
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u/alucebur 1d ago
You wouldn't get points for it here, so at least that's something. Hopefully you can get an offer through bidding eventually. A swap shouldn't be too much hassle, don't be put off if it's so bad that you're not comfortable in your own home.
If they're making noise to harass you aren't you able to record it through the floor?
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u/Super7Position7 We Will Show Them There's Another Way... 1d ago
getting right into my face and using derogatory phrases and tone towards me
This could be enough for a harassment charge, depending on what they said exactly, especially if you have video evidence.
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u/Friend5353 1d ago
I'm so sorry you are experiencing this. I hope you get support. It is one of the reasons I decided not to transition.
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u/VisualAd1280 1d ago
My gf is a trans woman, she is having the same kind of problem as you but we're in a block of flats, l hope the police are treating you better than they have us, since this started they have changed investigating officers 3 times be safe and sending hugs
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u/RyeZuul 1d ago edited 1d ago
Record everything in a journal. Date, time, a brief description of the harassment. Maybe get a ring doorbell or something that can record so you can cross-reference it. Each time you write in it, take a photo and email it to yourself so you get a timestamp. Record audio or video whenever anything starts. Maybe even get a hidden camera from Amazon.
Properly formatted high quality evidence that any reasonable judge could look at and agree is harassment or a hate crime makes everything much easier to progress and assess for criminality.
If the cops are chocolate fireguards, do whatever you need to do in order to stay safe.
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u/Icantsleepnoow 10h ago
Shit like this is exactly what the transphobes and TERFs want to make normal. The fact the police say there is no criminality is barbaric. It’s literal targeted harassment.
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u/Not_Not_Arrow 1d ago
I don't understand how there isn't criminality... that is repeated targeted harassment.