Rhetoric can be a little heavy-handed

Sir, – In the festive season people from all sorts of backgrounds come together in situations with which most of us feel comfortable. Sometimes – through a blend of personal and professional rivalry, sexual tension, party frivolity and too much alcohol – things are said and done that can cause offence.

I read with some interest the views of Marie Penman of Women Together in Fife on the feelings of her members on “wolfwhistling” (“Women in bid to punish sex pests”, Courier, December 7).

Certainly our streets should be safe for everyone – most personal taunts have to be discouraged.

The Scottish Government and WTF do want to outlaw what they call “misogynistic harassment”.

I just wonder though if they are aware of some of the realities of what goes on at various celebrations. It is wrong to assume that offensive behaviour is always a one-way street with predatory males making women’s lives difficult.

Anyone who has ever witnessed the antics at a so-called hen night knows that females can say and do things that some men find very embarrassing.

The point here is that we need to be very careful before we rush into passing laws designed to outlaw antics like wolf-whistling.

Women Together in Fife are no doubt sincere in their complaints, but they risk sounding like puritans who can spoil a good case with overzealous rhetoric.

Bob Taylor.

24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.

Picture: Kris Miller. Though verbal harassment should be stifled through laws, it shouldn’t just be directed at men, particularly if the behaviour at many hen parties is a thing to go by, says one correspondent.