Our campaign aims to highlight and prevent the continuation of psychological, emotional and sexual abuse of campaigners and others by undercover police officers. We believe that:

There are no circumstances in which it would be acceptable for an undercover police officer to engage in intimate relationships with either targets or members of the public under the guise of their undercover identity.

The fact that this has taken place repeatedly, despite being morally wrong and unjustifiable, shows that within the police forces in the UK there exists:

  • institutional sexism – women have been used to shore up undercover identities, without regard for those women’s right to a private life (whilst men have been affected, evidence so far shows that it is primarily women’s lives that have been abused in this way).
  • institutional prejudice against members of the public who engage in social justice and environmental campaigning, including a disregard for their human rights.

Both these forms of institutional prejudice must be challenged and stopped; each has reinforced the other.

We call for:

  • a clear and unambiguous statement both from the police and the government that the abuse has ceased, and will never, in any circumstances, be permitted. This includes reform of the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Act, known as the CHIS or Spycops Act.
  • the past to be thoroughly and openly investigated, so that the damage may be acknowledged, those responsible may be held to account, and that as a society we may come to terms with what has happened, heal the wounds that have been inflicted and be confident that the practice has ceased. Those affected must be given access to any files held on them.
  • action and change to prevent these human rights abuses from ever happening again, including stronger support for whistle-blowers and greater protection for rights of association and expression.

Until these things happen, we have no reason to believe that these abhorrent abuses have stopped, or that the police acknowledge their actions are wrong, and that they must change. We welcome allies who wish to engage with the above issues in this spirit of democratic empowerment.

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