Police misogyny has failed women — But racism compounds these failures with fatal consequences

Police forces across the country have repeatedly failed to protect women and girls, with the Metropolitan Police frequently exposed as one of the worst offenders in allowing misogyny to persist within its ranks. These institutional failures do not simply undermine trust in policing; they compound the trauma experienced by victims and survivors of violence against women and girls.

For Black women, however, the consequences of these failures can be even more devastating.

When racism compounds an already entrenched culture of misogyny, discrimination and disbelief, it leaves Black women facing male violence more exposed and further denies them the protection, justice and accountability they deserve.

For Fiona Holm and Naomi Hunte, these failures had fatal consequences. Both women were murdered by Carl Cooper, despite police having knowledge of allegations of abuse and violence towards them.

Elise Skillen says her family had already spent two weeks pleading with police to do more to find her missing sister Fiona Holm, when they made a disturbing discovery.https://t.co/U8QAxWRS6M

— BBC London (@BBCLondonNews) March 22, 2026

Racial, misogynist bias with fatal consequences

The consequences of police inaction were devastating. Naomi was murdered in February 2022. While Cooper was on bail, he began a relationship with Fiona – a vulnerable woman with the mental age of a 15-year-old – who then disappeared in June 2023. Her family have been left without the closure of bringing her home, as Fiona’s body has still not been found.

It was only through the determination of Fiona’s sister, who insisted that something far more sinister had happened given Cooper’s previous violent attack on Fiona with a screwdriver, suspicious blacked-out windows and the burning of her clothes, that the full extent of his crimes came to light. Cooper was finally sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 35 years for both murders back in July 2024.

Campaigners are demanding real accountability from the officers involved, arguing that police inaction, ignored warnings and missed opportunities to protect them led to two women losing their lives. While 10 officers are currently under investigation, campaigners have made clear that apologies alone do not amount to real accountability.

At a demonstration in London on Sunday 12 July, campaigners exposed how police forces continue to fail Black women, despite being the very institutions responsible for protecting them.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sistah Space (@sistahspace) 

Anti-blackness bias must be where reform starts

The Met Police are renowned for bigotry, misogyny and racism. However, a recent report published in November 2025 argued that a specific focus on anti-Blackness in the police force is where efforts for reform must start.

Highlighting how these biases intersect and reinforce one another, the report’s author, Dr Shereen Daniels, argued that tackling anti-Black racism will also help challenge other forms of bigotry and abuse.

The decision not to include extensive personal accounts of racism was an ethical one. Repeatedly mining Black people’s experiences of trauma, knowing those testimonies are often disbelieved or softened for comfort, allows institutions like the Met to appear attentive while doing little of substance.

True accountability begins with specificity. When institutions speak in broad terms of “ethnic minorities” or “diversity,” those most harmed disappear from view. This work begins where harm is sharpest, because that is where structural change must start. Anti-Blackness is the clearest indicator of organisational dysfunction. The same systems that sustain racial harm against Black people also enable other forms of harm. Confronting this is not an act of exclusion but a necessary foundation for safety, fairness and justice for everyone.

However, we also wrote about how Met Commissioner Mark Rowley still seemed to struggle to grasp what the report was trying to say. As a result, his words only reinforced Dr Daniel’s assertion that meaningful progressive reform continues to fail because there is a lack of willingness to confront institutional bias and show genuine humility in acknowledging the police force’s failures to recognise the lived experiences of Black people.

On the topic of police leadership failing to understand the weight of the report’s findings, and acting as a barrier to real change, Met commissioner Mark Rowley neatly demonstrated the report’s findings in action. The commissioner, who has repeatedly refused to acknowledge that the Met is institutionally racist, said of the report:

“Our expectation is that leaders will drive this change with their teams and they will be held accountable. When it comes to any individual discrimination, including racism, our commitment is clear: we are continuing to deliver the largest corruption clear-out in British policing history to remove those who do not belong.

Working with Black communities and colleagues whose experiences are reflected in Dr Daniels’ report, we will be applying the same resolve to go after the patterns of discrimination that show up in our operational work, and within the organisation by identifying and addressing their root causes.”

To read a 126-page report (and a 52-page explainer) stating that the structure of the Met works to prevent anti-racist progress, and then state “our leaders will drive this change” is another level of bigoted ignorance. Anyone capable of shame would wither away on the spot.

Police protecting whiteness at the expense of justice

After decades of reviews, reports and recommendations, it is becoming harder to ignore that real change for Black communities remains painfully slow. At the same time, the growing rise in misogynistic abuse exposes how anti-Black racism operates alongside other forms of hatred, with each reinforcing and deepening the other.

Those who target Black people with racism are often the same people who direct abuse towards other marginalised groups. At the heart of this is a desire for power, control and superiority – a need to dominate others to protect a fragile sense of entitlement.

That is why tackling abuse against one community can create wider change for everyone. When we challenge the systems that protect inequality and privilege, we make it harder for all forms of hatred and discrimination to thrive — including the institutions that continue to protect whiteness over justice.

Featured image via the Canary