A Week in the War on Women: Monday 26th June - Sunday 2nd July GOOD NEWS SUPPLEMENT
Just some of the good news stories from the gender beat this week. Enjoy!
Leave Them Kids Alone #1
Better late than never, there is to be a review of the use of puberty blockers at Ireland’s child gender service.
Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) is to review the prescribing of puberty blockers for minors. A study into the impact of the treatment on children with gender dysphoria is expected to begin next year.
Leave Them Kids Alone #2
The government’s health watchdog is investigating the new private gender clinic set up by former Tavistock staff.
The Gender Plus clinic opened its doors in London, Birmingham and Dublin just one month ago. It is currently being investigated for failing to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The CQC said it is not currently undertaking a criminal investigation but that “If new information becomes available, that gives reasonable grounds to suspect an offence may have been committed, we will consider appropriate action”.
Cates On The Case
Miriam Cates MP, a former teacher, has introduced a ‘sex education transparency’ private members bill to Parliament.
If passed, the bill will create a legal duty for schools in England to share Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) materials with parents and to prevent schools from using unpublished materials supplied by a third-party.
Legal Eagles
It’s been an extremely busy week, legally speaking, and two excellent results have further cemented the legal rights of those expressing gender-critical views.
1) Serving An ACE
Firstly, Denise Fahmy has won her case against Arts Council England. A unanimous judgment of the Leeds Employment Tribunal upheld her claim that she was subjected to harassment for her gender critical beliefs.
A press release from didlaw stated:
“This outcome is welcomed and moves us one step further ahead in shining a spotlight on this unnecessarily controversial and political issue where there is a need for rational and respectful debate… Perhaps this judgment will serve as a reminder of the need for reasoned debate around an unnecessarily toxic issue.”
2) Worthy Of Respect
Another victory for Maya Forstater and, with it, a warning to employers about their attitude to sex-based rights.
This week the employment appeal tribunal has order her former employer, the Centre for Global Development (CGD), to pay her £106,404 in compensation after the organisation was found to have engaged in unlawful discrimination.
The award includes aggravated damages for oppressive and high-handed conduct in the public statements that CGD president, Sir Masood Ahmed, and vice president, Amanda Glassman, made during the course of the case.
Maya said, “My case has exposed institutionalised discrimination against, and the routine abuse and smearing of, people with perfectly ordinary beliefs about the material reality of sex… Organisations that call people ‘bigots’ and that discriminate against them because of their beliefs can expect to pay significant damages when these cases come to court.”
3) See You In Court
And speaking of which, Deirdre O'Neill and Michael Wayne, the creators of the documentary, Human Adult Female, are taking legal action against the Universities and College Union (UCU) over its opposition to screenings of the film.
Scheduled screenings of the documentary at Edinburgh University have twice had to be cancelled. On both occasions the Edinburgh branch of the UCU described the film as ‘transphobic’ and ‘hate speech’ and supported those protestors who prevented it from being seen.
“We are raising funds to bring an employment tribunal claim against UCU for unlawfully discriminating against us because of our protected 'gender critical' beliefs. UCU champions those who believe that men who identify into the opposite sex should be treated in policy and law as women. We believe that this view is harmful to women's sex-based rights. UCU not only disagrees with our position but opposes our right to screen the film and discuss the issues.”
We wish Deirdre O'Neill and Michael Wayne and their legal team the very best of luck with the case. If you would like to make a donation to their costs, you can do so here.
A Level Playing Field
The redoubtable Sharron Davies appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this week and, to borrow a sporting analogy, she smashed it outta the park.
“We have men’s and women’s competitions for a very good reason… People who are female are worthy of fair sport.”
And Finally…
Thank you! Some good news, although it's shocking institutions should be told not to discriminate on our legal and correct views. It's always lovely to read about Maya as we do owe her a lot.
Love the picture! It's adorable.
Thanks Mr Linehan for your courage, wit and endurance. I regard the money I've happily donated to Maya Forstater's legal costs as an 'investment' that has been paid off generously.