A former police sergeant has come forward with her experience of transitioning while working at Scotland Yard, which led to her resigning due to the mistreatment she endured from senior officers. Natalie Ashton, who had worked for the Metropolitan Police for two decades, spoke with PinkNews about the relentless harassment that she and her trans colleagues faced while working there. Ashton describes hearing a colleague call a trans suspect a “t**y c*t” and being subjected to misogynistic and transphobic remarks herself.
Ashton’s experience mirrors the findings of Baroness Casey’s independent review of the Met earlier this year, which labeled the force “institutionally” discriminatory. The report found that 14 percent of lesbian, gay or bisexual officers experience homophobia every week. The lack of action in dealing with complaints and mistreatment of those who spoke up only exacerbated the situation, as Natalie told PinkNews.
Ashton also revealed the systemic discrimination she faced, from being placed in administrative jobs below her pay grade to being locked away in an internal role, which she claimed was an attempt to keep her out of the public eye, and allegedly being blocked from promotion. Natalie tried to push for change within the Met by writing a 15,000-word policy document detailing everything that had happened to her, but the document was stonewalled and eventually disappeared.
The ordeal and the realization that little could be done to stop the institutional negligence culminated in Natalie resigning from the Met and eventually leaving policing altogether. Ashton warned trans Londoners to “turn around and quickly walk away” if they see a Metropolitan Police officer, saying she knows how they will view them and that many of them will mean harm.
In response to the accusations of complacency in addressing these issues, the Met said it was making a number of improvements, including in recruitment and leadership training. However, Ashton’s experience highlights the need for more significant changes in the force to combat institutional discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.