A police raid on a pub in Essex has rekindled a row over the display of golliwog dolls, but what is the law around these racist figures?
What are golliwog dolls?
Created by Florence Kate Upton in 1895, the dolls grew out of racist minstrel caricatures, with frizzy hair, big lips and large white teeth. The word golliwog has been used to dehumanise black people.
Why is an Essex pub being investigated for displaying golliwog dolls behind the bar?
Essex police said they confiscated a number of golliwog dolls from the White Hart Inn in Grays last week as part of an investigation after a complaint of an alleged hate crime. The landlady, Benice Ryley, has since vowed to replace the confiscated dolls. The force says it is aware of her plan but would need to receive another complaint before taking any further action.
A police spokesperson said: “No victim has come forward who has felt racially harassed, alarmed or distressed since any further dolls have gone up in the pub.” Ryley denied that she or her husband, Chris Ryley, the pub landlord, were racist.
Is it illegal to display golliwog dolls?
Potentially, yes. Under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, behaviour that is racially aggravated is an offence if at the time “the offender demonstrates towards the victim hostility based on the victim’s membership or presumed membership of a racial or religious group”. Sailesh Mehta, a barrister at Red Lion Chambers, said: “Even displaying them, it could be argued, is an incitement to racial hatred.” He added: “If I were to have a big slogan in my pub that’s defamatory towards black people, then in principle [that] could amount to incitement to racial hatred, and so it becomes a hate crime.”
Does a victim need to come forward to secure a conviction?
Not necessarily. Mehta, a founding member of the Society of Asian Lawyers, said: “For most public order offences, you don’t actually need a real victim, you can make do with a notional victim. If it is the sort of material that is known to cause offence, you don’t need someone to complain.”
How easy would it be to secure a conviction for displaying golliwog dolls?
A conviction would be challenging, according to Mehta. He said the difficulty for a prosecuting lawyer would be convincing a jury of an intent to cause offence. He said: “My view is that, offensive though golliwogs are, it might be difficult to get it past a jury. It wouldn’t be a clearcut case.”
Have any other laws potentially been breached?
Under the 2010 Equality Act, businesses, such as pubs, must provide an equal service to customers and staff. Breaches of this would be dealt with as a civil matter and are the responsibility of local authorities. Any breach could result in the local council removing the pub’s licence.
A 2016 Facebook post from Chris Ryley showed dolls hanging from a shelf in the bar alongside a comment saying: “They used to hang them in Mississippi years ago.” Mehta said this could potentially be prosecuted as malicious communication. Essex police are aware of these posts, and they are understood to form part of their investigation.
Can shops or websites be prosecuted for displaying golliwog dolls?
In theory. Mehta said: “If the police were to prosecute for merely displaying these dolls in a pub, then in principle, they should also be looking at the shops.” But he said it would be even more difficult to show intent to cause offence for someone selling golliwog dolls.
