Tag: law

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Students

I am afraid of my hardly won rights being taken away from me

As a woman, I am afraid of my hardly won rights being taken away from me. I also think vulnerable women will seriously be harmed by this ideology which will ultimately do nothing but to enforce gender stereotypes.

I have written on social media about this subject and started supporting feminist organisations trying to protect women and girl’s sex based rights.

I lost friends. I am scared of future job opportunities being denied to me.

N, I am a 24 year old feminist and socialist woman doing a master’s degree in international law

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Students

I care because they lie

I care for two reasons, one is emotional and the other factual. I care because women’s rights are constantly challenged. And I care because they lie. No, it is not true that transwomen are female. It has nothing to do with being kind or understanding or I don’t know what else. It’s not true. And I won’t lie just to make them happy while they eat away at my rights as a woman and a febfem.

I have become more and more vocal about these issues, trying to care less and less about any backlash I may receive

Tension with my transgender friend. Depending when we talk, she agrees with me or buries her head in the sand. I don’t wan’t to hurt her so I don’t push as hard as I would online, but it’s so frustrating to see her get so close to being gender critical and then go back to being buried deep in gender theory.

Alicia, International law and Human rights postgraduate student

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Healthcare Others

I pointed out that the Labour Party Rule Book does not refer to the Equality Act

This matters to me because it is not possible to change sex, and because women and girls suffer in various ways if men are allowed in spaces where they are vulnerable, undressed or asleep. The Equality Act 2010 provides protection for women but the law is widely misquoted and misinterpreted due to the systematic policy capture by extremist transactivists. 

Many trans people do not support the demands of transactivists for the legalisation of  ‘self-ID’ ‘gender identity’.  I’m appalled by the silencing of many academics who support the retention of existing sex-based rights for women, and by the suspension and banning from social media platforms of gender critical people  – mainly women. Safeguarding of children is also threatened by trans ‘affirmation.

I have proposed two GC (gender critical) resolutions in my Labour Party CLP.  I organised Defend Women’s Rights meetings locally. I attended several Womens Place UK meetings.  I’m active in Labour Womens Declaration Working Group. I constantly post openly on Facebook and Twitter. I am an admin of several secret GC facebook groups. 

I have emailed my MP with detail several times, as well as lobbying Labour Party NEC members and MPs. I pointed out that the Labour Party Rule Book does not refer to the Equality Act (!) and incorrectly references the protected characteristics. (Unchanged in 2020 edition) 

I am writing my story “Musing on the sex and gender morass: how my life changed on 18th Nov 2017”  (when I found out about transactivist demands for Self-ID  

I have lost two dear friends as a consequence of my views on sex and gender. Very painful… And I think probably many other less close friends and acquaintances will have distanced themselves. Hard to know. Most people I think say nothing, knowing that it’s ‘toxic’ 

I have repeatedly been called ‘bigoted’ ‘hateful’  ‘transphobic’ – none of which are true.  I left the Labour Party because of this in 2018 and then decided to rejoin in 2019 – but was rejected as a member because I ‘mis-gendered’ a young man who identifies as a woman, and had been elected as a women’s office in the party. (and because I’m a supporter of Palestinian rights) Currently awaiting appeal hearing 8 months later. It’s been my choice to proritise this issue, but that has come at a very significant cost.

Diane Jones, Socialist feminist, retired researcher. Art music literature for sanity retention

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Parent

I am appalled that my three daughters may grow up with fewer rights than I had as a teenager and young woman

I care about it as I am horrified to see the misogyny that has existed since time began cloak itself with a progressive cause to undo women’s rights and take away so much of what we have fought for. I care because I am appalled that my three daughters may grow up with fewer rights than I had as a teenager and young woman.

I have been speaking up on social media since 2015 and tentatively speaking about in person from that time, I started attending events in 2018.

I have lost many friends who have unfriended me on Facebook. My relationship with my brother in law and his wife has been permanently soured as he has accused me and my husband of being transphobic. I know that a number of colleagues past and present view me as bigoted.

C, Feminist and mother

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Academics and researchers Healthcare

This movement has truly shown that women are at the bottom of the pile

I care because the pro-gender lobby is hugely sexist, and aims to trample women’s rights – our rights to safe, female-only spaces, our rights to self-definition and even discussion of female reality and biology. I care because of the huge safeguarding concerns for women in vulnerable situations e.g. prison and hospital, and also the danger to children’s health and wellbeing.

It is cruel that gay, autistic, gnc etc children are being taught they are in “the wrong body” and must undergo a lifetime of medical alterations by adults who seem to gave forgotten their own childhood. I care because this movement has truly shown that women are at the bottom of the pile, considered less important than male feelings.

I have spoken with family about this, who said they wouldn’t have been aware otherwise. I have posted gender critical (but fairly mainstream, approachable) articles on social media for friends and coworkers to see (and had a few surprise “likes”).

I responded to the Scottish GRA. I researched gender ideology and the many areas of concern, and wrote a well-sourced email to my MP (Labour MP Cat “3 homes” Smith – useless, says transwomen are women, believes I am wrong and didn’t care about any of the quoted articles or stats in my letter).

I also wrote to Labour leadership and deputy candidates (apparently Kier’s team had nothing to say about women’s rights or protecting Equality Act 2010, but promise to protect non-binary people in whatever that means). I wrote to Tory women’s minister and got a better response from the GEO (that the Equality Act 2010 was safe, women’s rights matter).

I donate regularly to causes such as lawsuits, campaign groups. I vocally opposed my employer (a uni) changing ladies and gents toilets to unisex by virtue of simply changing the sign.

Our male union rep (Unite) said he wasn’t fussed and it was more important that non-binary and trans people don’t feel like “the odd one out” by using the other, single uni unisex toilet already available in the same corridor. Women’s safety didnt matter.

Thankfully more powerful women than me pushed back and the sign was quietly changed back.

I have had very uncomfortable arguments with colleagues and union reps and received very dismissive replies from politicians. Mostly it is just stressful because I have anxiety anyway. I am afraid of speaking out and losing my job at a uni that works closely with Stonewall and Gendered Intelligence. I am more afraid, however, of not standing up to bullies.

G

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Academics and researchers Healthcare

Denying the reality of sex will make fighting against exploitation and discrimination impossible

I care about the rights of women, down to the fundamental right of self-determination. I care because I know women are still exploited and discriminated against on the basis of sex, and denying the reality of sex will make fighting against exploitation and discrimination impossible. I care about our right to knowledge and intellectual freedom and I see it being curtailed. I care about children being medicated and operated on. I care about the right of lesbian to their own sexual orientation.

I have been vocal on social media. Written to charities and organisations to remind them of their duties under the EA. Submitted many FoI requests and complained to the Charity Commission about Stonewall. Written an academic article. Written articles for Uncommon Ground. Written to newspapers. Spoken to friends.

I have been suspended from Twitter (overturned by Better Business Bureau).

I have received threats of death and rape on social media.

I have been blocked by academic colleagues, and by my own alma mater, the University of Glasgow on Twitter.

Mermaids contacted my university in Germany to have me fired.

The School of Law in Glasgow rescinded my associate position (though I cannot prove this is the reason).

I have been told by the HR department in my university that they are often contacted by academics and members of the public either by email or through Twitter, to complain about my ideas.

Alessandra Asteriti, Junior Professor of International Economics, Germany

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Education Parent

The topic comes up scarily regularly for an infants school

I care because I want my daughter to have a safer life than I have had. I want her to be able to be confident in raising her safety concerns and not worried about being declared a bigot because she is fearful

I have spoken to friends. I regularly voice my concerns at work as the topic comes up scarily regularly for an infants school.

I have been reprimanded at work for stepping out of my role to complain that they had changed the protected characteristics in the schools equality policy.

I escalated to governors and they eventually agreed the law had not ‘changed yet’ – my work is now more heavily scrutinised and one of my colleagues no longer speaks to me.  I have lost friends and a fb account. I use twitter anonymously. I am fearful of making connections with anyone as I can’t afford to be ‘outed’ and lose my career.

Phyliss

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Healthcare

I am gay and I also see the damage done to my community

This matters to me mostly because of the safeguarding of our children, particularly young girls. I am gay and I also see the damage done to my community.

Gender non conforming kids (like many of us LGB) are told that they are in the wrong body, based on sexist constructs, that our mothers fought to get free of. Not only that, they are doing irreparable harm to their body. A whole generation of lesbian is being erased. My sisters.

I have mostly talked individually to people and in non gender related FB groups I am part of.

I’ve presented research a psychological point of view of the gender ideology. I just can’t do it under my name yet, for fear of retribution in my work and loss of my license if I say that I won’t affirm at all costs.

I have been mostly followed and harrassed in my private message. My main profile on FB got reported and I had to start over with another profile. But the most disheartening is talking to smart people and being told that it just doesn’t affect them or they don’t see how such a minority could change laws.

DR, Gay gender critical, Canada

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Healthcare

This matters to me because I am a woman and the word has been redefined in law to include males

This matters to me because I am a woman and the word has been redefined in law to include males. I care because of lived experience including abuse and misogyny.

I can’t raise my voice for fear of losing my career in the NHS. 

I have tweeted in support of Maya and JK Rowling and engaged in learning and reading including the excellent feminist board on Mumsnet

I have not experienced negative consequences because my personal online accounts are not connected to my work accounts.

C, Scottish 48yo female NHS physiotherapist

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Healthcare Parent

I got the head of my kids’ primary school to implement the Transgender Trend guidance

I was a teenager in the 90s and grew up with 2nd wave feminism. I am big on female anatomy and biology. I have always supported women and children.

I got the head of my kids’ primary school to implement the Transgender Trend guidance. At work I have changed forms which conflated sex and gender. I have been in meetings with the Baroness Nicholson.

I have been writing endlessly to my local MP ( has never replied). I have been to Women’s Place meetings (sometimes with friends). I have radicalised my mother in law. I have lost friends (good, close real life friends) over the GRA (Gender Recognition Act) debate and cannot speak out completely at work.

C