Last Wednesday morning, the City Police of Prague posted a Facebook photo of a woman in lingerie next to a police car. The policeman captioned it with “Hi guys, do you have a recruitment department in Prague 7? For those looking for another meaning in this photo, we got the photo directly from the Prague 7 police officers for the hot summer days and it’s not about hunting”.
The post stirred mixed reactions among people as some people talked about sexism while others took it as humor. Due to criticisms, the police officers apologized for the photo posted on the social media.
Irena Seifertová, the spokeswoman for the Prague police, stated that the police officers sometimes try to relieve their official Facebook profile from serious issues. “This is not a recruiting photo…we want to show that police officer are also just humans.” According to Seifertová, the post was not meant to be sexist as it was only in response to the blazing hot weather.
Photos have caused a negative reaction on the social network. People were questioned whether the police were trying to get a prize in the Sexist Piggy, and warned them that this award would no longer be paid this year. They thought that the police officers that are supposed to protect people from street harassments tried to slim market themselves. “The one who approved and put it on the net should be ashamed. We should rethink our view of the world as such contributions does not suggest anything good about his relationship with women,” wrote Samir Lepara.
Some people did not mind the photo. “You people have trouble. Is it forbidden to show a woman in lingerie?” wrote Dominik Matus.
The image eventually lasted only three hours on the social network. “Although we intended no harm or discrimination, because of the misinterpretation of our post, we decided to withdraw it. If we offended anyone, we apologize. We are very sorry for the negative reaction that the whole issue has caused,” said the police on Facebook.
Author: A.M.
