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A transgender woman has been banned from a shop after persistently asking female staff to hug her.
Amy Rice, 27, would also ask workers at Sainsbury's in Princes Avenue, west Hull, to befriend her on the social networking site Facebook.
She has now been banned from the store after being given an antisocial behaviour order (Asbo).
PC Allan Cowley, who works in Hull city centre, said Rice has been causing problems in the city for months.
"She has been going into Sainsbury's for more than four months, constantly asking female staff to hug her and add her on Facebook and making them feel very uneasy," he said.
"She has also been using crude and abusive language towards staff in St Stephen's shopping centre, kicking down residents' fences and shouting and swearing at people in the city centre."
Rice is currently being treated in hospital in Grimsby after being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
However, she was deemed fit by the courts to be given the Asbo.
PC Cowley said: "She has been reducing the quality of life of members of the public with her behaviour.
"We don't want people to be fearful to come into the city centre. There are a lot of agencies trying to improve the area and make it a thriving place and people like Amy Rice are reducing that.
"Her kind of behaviour is not what the police want for the city centre but, more importantly, it is not what the residents want."
The two-year order was imposed at Hull Magistrates' Court following an application by Humberside Police.
She was given an interim Asbo in January, and there have been no breaches of that order.
PC Cowley said: "If she continues to behave antisocially when she comes out of hospital, then she could be arrested and sent to prison.
"This order is there to protect the community and make their lives better."
The maximum sentence for breaching an Asbo is five years' imprisonment.
Story from the Hull Daily Mail: http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Transgender-woman-banned-store-asking-hugs/story-15599308-detail/story.html
Totally agree with both of you. This woman's gender status has nothing to actually do with the story which is actually a bit of a non story. I do wonder if this poor woman's right's haven't been infringed. A mental health section is meant to protect as much as it does detain people and under the Equality Act 2010 she comes under 2 protected groups as well so how could the fact that she is hospital be splashed all over the papers. What sensational reports like this never say is what led to this woman's current mental health condition. A life of prejudice and discrimination can be enough to lead anyone to mental ill-health. Perhaps the headline should be rewritten as: 'Sainsbury's was the only place she could get respect and attention.'
Hi Nicola, A very perceptive and thought provoking response. I agree with all of it. The fact that 1 in 4 develop mental health conditions always seems to escape people and when the stresses and demands posed by being trans are added in then we are a group at particularly high risk. The only solution is for us to be recognised as such and given speedy and efficient intervention not jugdement and punishment, as in this case. Best wishes, Nell x
