UK Police Officer Under Investigation for Advising Nigerian Women to “Manage” Domestic Abuse
A UK police officer is being investigated for telling a group of Nigerian women not to call the police on their husbands if they are experiencing domestic abuse, but to “manage it”. The officer’s comments, made in 2018 at a church in Camberwell, have resurfaced on social media and sparked outrage from abuse charities.
The video shows the officer speaking in Yoruba and English, telling the women that they should not call the police on their husbands, but rather “manage” the situation. This advice has been widely condemned as telling victims to stay in abusive relationships and not seek police protection.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that the footage has been referred to their standards unit, and the children’s safeguarding group Africa has expressed anger at the remarks in a letter of complaint to the Met. The charity’s CEO, Debbie Ariyo, described the officer’s comments as “counterproductive” and “an attack on Nigerian women”.
