A Week in the War on Women: Monday 16th December - Sunday 22nd December

Monday 15th December - This Never Happens #1

NEW ZEALAND HERALD: A convicted child rapist brought a legal challenge to his supervision order, claiming his transgender identity means he is no longer a risk.

We have written previously about Pierre John Parsons, a 47-year-old trans-identified male sex offender who lives in Dunedin, New Zealand. In 1995, then aged eighteen, Parsons attacked a 12-year-old girl in a toilet at a sports centre. He tied a rope around her neck and dragged the unconscious child down a corridor and into a changing room where he stripped off her clothes. (According to The New Zealand Herald, he stole the girl’s clothing for ‘cross-dressing purposes’.) Parsons then took the naked twelve-year old girl into another room where he raped her.

In 2003 he was released from prison on parole but was subject to an extended supervision order (ESO), a court order which is used to closely monitor and manage the long-term risk posed by sex offenders living among the general community. Two years later Parsons was back inside after he was caught keeping pictures of children in his room at the supervised housing facility where he was living. In 2006, a decade-long ESO was imposed upon him and has remained in place following various reviews and extensions.

Over the next ten years Parsons breached his ESO numerous times. He twice approached a 15-year-old girl, hoping to abuse her. On the first occasion, the girl was wearing her school uniform. On the second occasion, Parsons gave the girl a note which contained a phone number and a request for her to buy underwear. He also invited a prostitute to the housing facility at which he was living. In 2020 he was returned to prison for nine months following the discovery of ‘vile and degrading’ images and videos of child sexual abuse on his electronic devices.

Pierre John Parsons

In 2023 the High Court ruled that the continuation of Parson’s ESO was justified. Justice Rachel Dunningham commented, “I am left with the situation where there is a clear pattern of Ms Parsons taking the opportunity, when it arises, to give expression to her [sic] sexual drive”. A health assessor said Parsons is in the above average range of re-offending risk and added that there is no evidence the treatment of gender dysphoria reduces the risk of sexual recidivism in ‘transgender individuals’.

Parsons then brought a legal action to challenge the imposition of his ESO. He failed in the Court of Appeal so took his case to the Supreme Court. Parsons tried to argue that his ‘gender identity’ means he no longer poses a risk to the public. He claimed that his ‘predilection’ is now “Latent and might only emerge in certain circumstances”.

The Supreme Court did not agree; this week it upheld the original decision and Parson’s ESO will remain in place. In making its ruling, the Supreme Court described Parsons as ‘transgender’ and referred to him with female pronouns throughout the court documents.

He raped a 12-year-old girl.

Tuesday 17th December - Within These Walls #1

REDUXX: The federal government of Saxony is housing a number of trans-identified male sex offenders in its women’s prison.

In May this year, feminist campaign group, Lasst Frauen Sprechen (Let Women Speak), began filing Freedom of Information (FoI) requests, asking for data on the number of trans-identified males being housed in Germany’s female prisons. The response of most German states indicates that trans-identified males had been accommodated in women’s prisons long before the federal law required them to be.

Saxony was the only federal state which demanded a €1,100 fee to produce its records, meaning Let Women Speak was forced to withdraw their request. The information was eventually forthcoming, however, due to the intervention of right-wing political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), and news outlet, NiUS. The Ministry of Justice in Saxony indicated that, between 2023 and 2024, three trans-identified males had been housed at the Chemnitz correctional facility for women and that these inmates had criminal records for assault, sexual assault, sexual harassment and assault on law enforcement officers. One of them has a rape conviction.

Earlier this year, a number of Chemnitz’s female inmates spoke to Freie Press about being accommodated with one particularly abusive and intimidating trans-identified male. According to the women, the man was aggressive and verbally abusive and he threatened them with violence and frequently ambushed them during activities. It is reported that he also forced women to watch him masturbate.

The situation for women in Germany’s female prisons is only going get even worse following the enactment of the country’s Self Determination Act last month. The law enables German citizens to change their name and legal sex - even having the gender marker removed altogether - by making a simple declaration at a registry office. There are no formal requirements and neither medical diagnosis nor physical alteration are necessary. Now it’s even easier for a sexual predator to get into a women’s prison.

Wednesday 18th December - This Unsporting Life

NEW YORK POST: A teenage girl suffered devastating and life-altering injuries after being forced to compete in a volleyball game against a trans-identified male.

Payton McNabb was a very talented high school volleyball, softball and basketball player and had dreamed of winning a sporting scholarship in order to fund her college education. That dream ended abruptly during a volleyball match in September 2022 when Payton was 17 years old.

The opposing team included a trans-identified male player who, at 5 feet 11 inches tall, towered over the female players on the court. A ‘spiked’ shot from this male player hit Payton full in the face, knocking her to the ground and causing her to lose consciousness. (In volleyball, ‘spiking’ is a form of attacking play which involves jumping and, with the palm of the hand, hitting the ball hard and sharply downwards into the opposing court.) The male player is said to have ‘cackled with delight’ after knocking Payton to the floor with his ‘spike’ shot.

Unconscious for a full 30 seconds, Payton lay on the floor with her arms locked in an upright ‘fencing’ position. Doctors later diagnosed her with a traumatic brain injury, a brain bleed, partial paralysis and loss of peripheral vision on her right side. She also suffered ongoing memory loss, confusion, headaches, anxiety and depression. Now a student at Western Carolina University, Payton still suffers the effects of the injury. Because of the head trauma, she is unable to play softball at the collegiate level as planned. She also still suffers from debilitating headaches and anxiety.

Payton is now speaking out about her experience in the hope of preventing other girls from suffering a similar fate. She is sharing her story in a new documentary produced by the Independent Women’s Forum called ‘Kill Shot: How Payton McNabb Turned Tragedy Into Triumph’. The film includes interviews with Payton, as well as her sister and her parents, who have never previously spoken about the incident. Pamela McNabb, Payton’s mother, comments, “I would never, ever let her play today if I knew what I know now. Pull your kid. Don’t play. It is not worth what has happened to her to happen to anybody else’s child.”

Payton explains that she and her teammates at Hiwassee Dam High School were aware there was a trans-identified male player on the opposing team but were too frightened to voice their concerns. “We never thought we would ever be put in this position to begin with,” she says. “I didn’t know one person who agreed with [the trans player competing against us] on my team, but we didn’t know what to do.” Of the spike shot which injured her, Payton comments, “It was 100% avoidable, if only my rights as a female athlete had been more important than a man’s feelings”.

In the documentary, Payton shares an Instagram message which was sent to her by the trans-identified male player who destroyed her sporting ambitions with his spike shot. It reads, “Wow I really am living rent free in your head, aren’t I?”

Thursday 18th December - This Never Happens #2

REDUXX: A trans-identified male who murdered both his parents is taking legal action over his return to the male estate.

We have reported previously on Brian ‘Amber FayeFox’ Kim. In December 2006, he murdered his parents at their home in Mount Spokane, Washington. He stabbed his father and bludgeoned and strangled his mother. He then hid their dead bodies in an outbuilding before heading out on a spending spree, withdrawing $1000 with his dead father’s debit card. He was eighteen years old at the time. In 2008 Kim was convicted of two counts of aggravated first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Brian Kim during his trial, aged 18

Kim was originally housed in a men’s prison where he began ‘identifying as a woman’ and calling himself Amber FayeFox. He was subsequently moved to the Washington Corrections Centre for Women (WCCW) in 2021.

He is, of course, only one of many trans-identified male prisoners to be incarcerated at the Washington Corrections Centre for Women in recent years. The others include Joel Thomas Nichols, known as Jolene Charisma Starr, who was imprisoned for the brutal rapes of two little girls, serial killer, Donna Perry, who was convicted of murdering three women and claims to have killed many more, Brett David Sonia, who was convicted on numerous charges relating to the sexual exploitation of a young girl, Christopher Williams, who sexually abused a nine-year-old girl, and Hobbie Bingham, a sex offender who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl.

In November last year, Kim was the subject of a sympathetic article in The Huffington Post bemoaning the lack of ‘gender affirming healthcare’ for trans-identified males in prison. It describes how Kim wore his sisters clothes as a teenager and suggests that he murdered his parents because they would not accept his cross-dressing.

In March this year, a prison officer at the WCCW discovered 35-year-old Kim having sex with a 25-year-old female inmate. According to an incident report obtained by National Review, the officer looked into a cell during a routine late afternoon check and saw Kim “Laying on the floor completely nude from the waist down with their cellmate… on top of them also nude from the waist down actively having sex”.

Kim was then transferred back to the Monroe Correctional Facility for men. A Department of Corrections official told the National Review, “The reason for Kim's transfer was due to ongoing safety concerns”.

Kim is now taking legal action against the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) over his accommodation in the male estate, claiming it is ‘cruel and unusual punishment’. He is supported in this action by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which argues that his incarceration in a men’s prison is ‘unconstitutional’ and an example of ‘transphobia’. This week, ACLU attorneys filed a personal restraint petition in the state Court of Appeals on Kim’s behalf.

The ACLU featured in another story this week. The organisation is representing a three trans-identified male inmates who are suing the state of Florida over access to ‘gender affirming care’.

One of these inmates, Reiyn Keohane, attempted to murder a woman by stabbing her in the throat. Another, George ‘Sasha’ Mendoza, is serving time for first and second degree murder. The third, Matthew ‘Michelle’ Ward, is a convicted child rapist who abused two little girls. The ACLU is supporting these men in their legal fight for state-funded access to make-up and women’s underwear.

Friday 20th December - Labour (Still) Losing Women

THE TELEGRAPH: The government has very tacitly approved the use of women’s spaces by trans-identified males.

In May, prior to the election of the current Labour government, the then Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch, launched a consultation into the provision of women’s single-sex facilities. Due to the increasing concern over trans-identified males accessing female spaces, Badenoch sought to discover if the Equality Act 2010 was being properly interpreted and wanted to establish whether public and private bodies were wrongly suggesting that people have a legal right to access single-sex spaces on the basis of their self-declared gender identity.

This week, the responses to that consultation were revealed, very quietly and without communiqué, in a perfunctory statement from the Government’s Office for Equality and Opportunity. Secreted within the statement is the government’s clear acceptance of an informal self-ID policy which allows trans-identified males to use women’s changing rooms, bathrooms and services etc.

The current Minister for Women and Equalities, Annelise Dodds, stated that the ‘majority’ of the guidance received in response to the government call out ‘[seemed] to correctly interpret the Equality Act’s single-sex spaces provisions’. However, she then acknowledged that some organisations are operating policies which allow trans-identified male access to single-sex spaces to ‘correspond with their self-identified gender’ rather than their sex. This, believes Dodds, is entirely acceptable as long as the provider doesn’t “Incorrectly suggest that this is mandated by the Act”.

Ms Forstater told The Telegraph, “The Government is saying it’s fine for a service provider to allow men who identify as women into women-only spaces, as long as it doesn’t say that’s the law. In plain language, it’s saying it’s fine for any man who’s willing to claim he’s a woman to come into women’s changing rooms and showers – spaces where people get naked.”

Writing in Unherd, Joan Smith quite rightly describes this as ‘self-ID by the back door’. She also makes the point that, in its manifesto prior to the General Election, Labour promised to protect women’s spaces. Now it is in government, the party is reneging on that pledge. “Labour used to be the party of equality”, she says. “Now, it’s notorious for a series of broken promises. Starmer’s own problem with women has long been evident, but this latest in a series of betrayals suggests his government is happy to treat them with contempt too.”

Also Today - A Room of One’s Own #1

DAILY RECORD: A teenage boy has been charged with voyeurism after a young girl discovered a mobile phone in the mixed-sex toilet of a Scottish high school.

A female pupil found a mobile phone hidden in the toilet roll holder while she was using the ‘gender neutral’ toilet facilities at a Dundee secondary school this week. According to pupil’s mother who spoke to The Daily Record, the girl looked at the images stored on the device and discovered hundreds of videos and photographs of young girls, naked or partially naked in changing rooms and using the toilet.

On returning to the classroom, the girl handed the phone to her teacher and the school authorities subsequently contacted the police. Dundee police have confirmed that a 15-year-old boy has now been charged with voyeurism offences.

The girl herself has been left traumatised and very badly shaken and is afraid of returning to school. Her mother told The Daily Record that the school has ‘gender neutral’ (ie mixed sex toilets). “School is meant to be the one place where we can send our children and know that they are safe”, she said. “But where is the safeguarding when this can happen? If it wasn't for the mixed toilets then this just would never have happened… This boy would simply not have had access to the girls toilets otherwise.”

And that is exactly why women and girls need our own single-sex spaces.

Also Today - This Never Happens #3

THE CHRONICLE: A trans-identified male convicted sex offender has been accused of posing as a teenage girl in order to enrol in high school.

Formerly known as Alec Ray Craig, 27-year-old Makayla Craig is a trans-identified male from Oregon. The Chronicle reports that, in 2023, Craig was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse. His record also includes convictions for theft and the unauthorized use of a vehicle.

According to journalist, Andy Ngo, Craig is a vociferous trans activist who claims to be only 14 years old on his social media profiles and often uses filters to make himself appear younger in photographs.

Makayla (formerly Alec Ray) Craig - IMAGE CREDIT: Andy Ngo

Last week, Craig was arrested after allegedly posing as a 15-year-old girl to enrol as a pupil at a high school in Albany, Oregon. He was reported by staff at Families and Communities Together, the health and social service programme for the Greater Albany Public School District.

The Albany Police Department made a statement on social media that Craig has been arrested for computer crimes, second-degree forgery and false swearing.

You will notice that the police statement uses Craig’s ‘female’ name, avoids pronouns, and states that he is a convicted sex offender. It fails to mention Craig’s true sex and/or trans status. When people tried to point out this omission, the Albany Police Department turned off the comments on its post ‘because of hate speech’.

Saturday 21st December - A Room of One’s Own #2

KENOSHA COUNTY EYE: A 16-year-old boy has been allowed to use the female locker room where he exposed himself and watched the girls undressing.

A number of concerned parents contacted local news outlet, Kenosha County Eye (KCE), reporting that a 16-year-old boy has been allowed to use the girls’ changing room at Westosha Central High School in Paddock Lake, Wisconsin.

It is alleged that boy parades naked around the locker room, often with his genitals on display, and rubs lotion on himself. It is also reported that he stares at the girls while they change, making them extremely uncomfortable. Some girls, many of whom are only 14 and 15 years old, started to change in toilet stalls to avoid him. One girl was reportedly assaulted by the boy when he told him to ‘put [his] dick away’ and it is claimed that he was known to be violent when at his previous school.

Some female pupils spoke to their gym teacher, Miranda Hopkins, to protest the boy’s presence in their locker room. According to KCE, she told them that the boy ‘identifies as a girl’ so must be permitted access to the female facilities. It is also alleged that Hopkins prevented the girls from using the school’s family locker room in order to avoid boy and she instructed them to stop ‘stirring up drama’.

Wetosha Central High School - IMAGE CREDIT: Bray Architects

Consequently, many girls stopped undressing in their locker room and, instead, attended gym class without wearing the correct attire. The school punished them by marking down their grades and imposing ‘unexcused absences’.

KCE reports that “Multiple parents have called the school multiple times” to address this issue. Eventually, the school authorities told the girls that the boy is no longer allowed to use the female facilities. However, this does not appear to have been communicated to him and he continues to invade the girls’ locker room.

One concerned father told KCE, “I find it unacceptable that a 14-year-old girl is required to change in front of a 16-year-old boy to complete a required class in school… I don’t feel like the district is taking this seriously”.

Sunday 22nd December - Within These Walls #2

BBC NEWS: A trans-identified male accused of threatening to murder his neighbour won a legal challenge to be placed in a female prison.

63-year-old Michelle James is a trans-identified male from Cloughey in Northern Ireland who has been charged with threats to kill. It is alleged that James, a retired chef, threatened the life of a neighbour, stating that he would stab the man and feel happy about it. It is reported that these threats were a result of James’ neighbour referring to him by his original male name.

Following his arrest, James was initially held in the male estate at Maghaberry Prison. However, a successful legal challenge in the High Court meant he was transferred to Northern Ireland’s female prison, Hydebank Wood. The Department of Justice acknowledged that there is a lack of policy in place overseeing the placement of prisoners with a trans identity and so consented to James being accommodated amongst female prisoners.

IMAGE CREDIT: @smith_orlat

So as a result of negligent policy-making and without any concern for the rights, safety and well-being of the female inmates, a man accused of threatening someone’s life because they would not affirm his gender identity was transferred to a women’s prison.

Luckily for the women incarcerated in Hydebank Wood, soon after his transfer, James was granted bail and returned home.

But what if James is found guilty and receives a custodial sentence? If that happens, I doubt we can expect Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister, Naomi Long, to protect the women in Hydebank Wood.

See you next week