A retired South Wales Police superintendent says officers from her former force visited her home after she used a birth name for a transgender activist on social media, according to published reports.
Cathy Larkman, who served more than 30 years with South Wales Police, told The Telegraph she was not at home when officers called but was informed that a complaint had been made alleging possible "malicious communications". The incident, she said, stemmed from a series of posts on the social platform X in September 2024 directed at the account of transgender activist Freda Wallace.
Larkman said the posts included messages such as "Fred blocked me" and "Fred, put that drink down." In media accounts she confirmed she had referred to Wallace by the male name she used before transitioning — a practice commonly described as "dead-naming," in which a transgender person is called by their birth name rather than their chosen name.
According to the reports, Larkman’s comments were made in the context of a wider debate about police strip-searching policy and how that policy should apply to transgender women. She has argued in the past that transgender women should not be strip-searched in certain circumstances, the reports said.
Larkman retired from South Wales Police after more than three decades of service and has been publicly active in discussions about policing policy. She told reporters she was surprised when officers visited her home and said she believed the contact related directly to her social media posts about Wallace.
The Telegraph and subsequent reports did not include an immediate public comment from South Wales Police confirming the visit or the nature of any complaint. Larkman’s account, as relayed in those reports, states only that she was informed a report had been made alleging possible malicious communications.
Dead-naming is widely regarded by transgender advocates as a form of harassment because it deliberately refuses to acknowledge a person’s affirmed gender and chosen name. Use of a birth name for a transgender person has prompted public controversy in the United Kingdom amid ongoing debates over transgender rights, policing practices and social media conduct.
The episode follows a broader pattern of scrutiny over how police forces address online conduct and complaints, particularly when posts concern protected characteristics or targets who are public activists. Media coverage of similar incidents has prompted discussion about the balance between freedom of expression and the enforcement of harassment and communications laws.
Larkman’s account, as reported, did not indicate any criminal charges had been brought. It remains unclear whether any formal investigation followed the door-step visit she described or what, if any, action South Wales Police may have taken after receiving the complaint.