Breastfeeding mum feels ‘humiliated’ at a Croydon funfair

A funfair security guard has been sacked for the way he asked a breastfeeding mum to stop in a queue for tickets.

The security guard at Croydon Funpark, in Ashburton Park, Lower Addiscombe, told the mum to cover up and added: “It would be like me taking a p**s in public”.

The mother, Hana Moshie, from St Norbert Road, Brockley, asked to see his boss, who suggested she breastfeed in a more private and comfortable area.

But Ms Moshie said that would not be necessary as her four-month-old boy Carter was no longer hungry and left after enjoying her day at the fair on August 13. Ms Moshie said: “I was made to feel disgusting, segregated and publicly shamed in front of a lot of people.”

Most reaction on social media assumed Ms Moshie was thrown out of the funfair but the funpark said that was not the case – she and her children and friends made full use of their tickets.

She later posted about the incident on motherhood blog mumsandchild.com where posters pointed out the Equality Act of 2010 states that treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding a child of any age is considered sex discrimination.

Ms Moshie said: “My youngest was crying with hunger so I picked him up out of the pushchair and started breastfeeding in the queue for tickets.

“A security guard came over and looked at me with disgust saying ‘you can’t do that here’. I was so confused and shocked. I asked why? All I’m doing is feeding my baby.

“He then said that ‘it’s inappropriate and offensive. It’s the same as getting my c**k out’.

“At this point I just wanted to disappear. He had said this to me and in front of everyone in the line including the children. “My friends tried hard to defend me but he just questioned me about places I breastfeed and was shocked to find that I breastfeed everywhere I go.

“It deeply pained me to stop feeding my obviously hungry baby but everyone was watching me. When we got to the end and paid for our tickets I requested to speak to the manager and she said it’s inappropriate to breastfeed at a family event and that they’ve had lots of complaints in the past.

“She said I’d have to leave the premises of the park to breastfeed but I’d be allowed back in once I’d finished.

“It wasn’t until I got home and did some research that I learned about the Equality act of 2010.”

The incident led to a storm of comment on mumsandchild and other social media.

One poster, Molly Jayne Bond, said: “I think a lot of your staff need retraining!! It is against the law to ask a breastfeeding mum to cover up. For a member of staff to compare it to getting his willy out is disgusting.”

Another said: “I can’t believe there are still people who think it is indecent exposure.”

A third said: “The objectification and sexualisation of women have led to them being made to feel uncomfortable feeding their children, out of fear they may attract unwanted sexual attention or making others feel uncomfortable.”

John Davis Funfair head Charmaine Davis said: “The security guard was dismissed because he said ‘It would be like me having a piss’ to the woman who was breastfeeding.

“He is a nice Croydon boy who has not had work all year and had been working hard for us. But because he said that word I had to dismiss him. “He doesn’t work for us any more and he won’t work for us any more but I would not name him.

“He is accredited by Croydon Security Industry Authority. “He should not have used that word – but I do not believe it would have come out of the blue.

“Breastfeeding is good for the baby and the mother. “But her breast was fully on display – the baby was not attached and that then becomes about privacy. “That is not dignified and some parents do not like it in front of children.

“We did offer her a comfortable place to sit that was more private.

“Our priority is making sure everyone is safe, clean and sanitised. We check everyone’s temperature before they come in. We have to do those jobs properly.

“Many mothers breastfeed at this funfair every day. If we had any problem with it, this issue would have happened before now – we have been here years and hundreds have breastfed in that time. We think nothing of it.

“We did not throw anyone out. This has been blown out of proportion.

“Breastfeeding mothers are always very welcome here.”