Sexist row involving unofficial Spain's Guardia Civil account sparks outrage

A sexist comment made by an unofficial Twitter account of Spanish Guardia Civil officers has sparked outrage in Catalonia. The account @forogc tweeted that Catalan men should "keep an eye on their girlfriends" as Spanish police officers deployed in Catalonia are “handsome” and have “well-built” bodies. In addition, the forum of Spanish Guardia Civil officers warned that women “could get pregnant”.

The tweet was a response to a user that joked about the officers deployed in Catalonia since the October 1 referendum. He said that the Spanish police officers could have been cheated on by their girlfriends during their stay in Catalonia. The @forogc twitter account, with more than 138,000 followers, didn’t ignore the user’s comment and replied with a sexist comment that rapidly went viral. 

"Keep an eye on your wife or girlfriend, she might bring you a present in 9 month's time. That's what happens when 7,000 handsome and well-built colleagues are deployed in Catalonia," said the tweet. 

Despite saying they don’t speak on behalf of the Spanish police, many users replied to the sexist comment, even politicians. For instance, one of the spokespersons of the pro-independence and left-wing party CUP, Quim Arrufat, wrote to the Spanish home affairs minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, and the Spanish Guardia Civil to demand them to “balance the tone” of their officers.