A Week in the War on Women Monday 15th May - Sunday 21st May GOOD NEWS SUPPLEMENT

Jemima Nicholas, Scolton Manor Country Park, Pembrokeshire,

Just a handful of the good news stories from the gender beat this week. Enjoy!

Another Domino Tumbles

As reported by BBC NI’s Nolan Live programme, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), has left Stonewall’s ‘diversity champions’ scheme.

Despite being awarded ‘employer of the year’ very recently, the PSNI has pulled out of the Stonewall scheme, the latest public sector organisation to do so.

A Level Playing Field

A Californian court ruling which allowed trans-identified male, Natalie Ryan, to play disc golf in women’s events has been overturned.

Earlier this year Ryan filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Professional Disc Golf Association over its policy of barring trans-identified males from female competitions. He was successful in a district court but a circuit court of appeals has overruled that decision and he has been removed from the women’s tour.

Free Speech On Campus

Oxford academics have spoken out against attempts to de-platform Professor Kathleen Stock after she was invited to speak at the university debating society.

An open letter signed by 44 academics was published in the Telegraph and said the signatories ‘wholeheartedly condemn’ attempts by students to prevent Professor Stock from speaking.

Professor Stock said that she was “Very pleased to see there are still those at Oxford University who understand the value of upholding academic freedom, and are prepared to demonstrate this important value in public”.

Florida’s Key

Florida has passed a law banning the medicalisation of children with issues around their ‘gender’.

The new law prohibits the prescription of puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors and also outlaws other procedures and surgeries sold to kids as ‘gender affirming’ care’.

Sanity Prevails

The University of Melbourne has (quite rightly) cleared philosophy lecturer, Professor Holly Lawford-Smith of any disciplinary breach for attending the Let Women Speak in Melbourne which was gate-crashed by a group of neo-Nazis.

The university launched an internal investigation into Professor Lawford-Smith’s attendance nearly two months ago and has now formally informed that her she has no case to answer.

Sunlight Flooding In

There were two brilliant articles published this week which shine a light on the absurdity of the Scottish government’s gender self-ID bill as yet another trans-identifying male is convicted of sex offences.

Firstly, Susan Dalgety’s column in The Scotsman put Shona Robison in the spotlight following her cringe-worthy reaction to the Andrew Miller case.

“Shona Robison is the one person in Scotland who could persuade Humza Yousaf to reconsider the safeguarding issues arising out of self-ID. She could dig deep and find the courage to admit that she got it wrong when she said predatory men never pretend to be something they are not to abuse.

She could stand tall in the parliament and say that, considering recent events and after listening to women, she thinks we should look again at the impact of self-ID on safeguarding. She could be a fearless protector of women and girls. Or she can remain silent, cowering behind the small but powerful transgender lobby. The choice is hers.”

Secondly, Alex Massie wrote in The Times Scotland that politicians can’t have it both ways in the debate about gender.

“Scottish ministers have made fools of themselves attempting to escape the inevitable, and predicted, consequences of their own choices… Self-ID is either universal or it is nothing. A self-described trans person does not lose that status simply because they have committed a horrific crime and it is now politically expedient for politicians to disown the consequences of their own actions.”

Crowdfunder Kicked Into Touch

Remember Julie Anne Curtiss, 52-year-old trans-identified father from Brighton who instigated legal action against the RFU because he was determined to play rugby with young women?

Looks like his Crowdjustice page - promoted on social media by Stonewall CEO, Nancy Kelley - has been deleted.

Glinner Of Hope

Don’t miss Our Graham in conversation with Heather, founder of the Women’s Right’s Network, on the WRN podcast this week.

And Finally…