A Week in the War On Women: Monday 23rd September - Sunday 29th September
Monday 23rd September - This Never Happens #1
21WFMJ: In Ohio, a cross-dressing man who calls himself ‘Vicky’ has been arrested for attempting to snatch an 11-year-old boy from outside his own home.
39-year-old Joshua Freyermuth, who also calls himself ‘Vicky’, was arrested this week for the attempted abduction of an 11-year-old boy from outside his home in Alliance, Ohio. It is alleged that Freyermuth, who was wearing a blond wig, pearls, make-up and high heeled shoes, approached the boy and told him “I need to talk to you”. When the child refused, Freyermuth allegedly tried to grab him.
The boy’s father, Zachery Thurmond, told local news outlet, WOIO, “When he grabbed my son's arm, my dog attacked him and then he stumbled back off the stairs. He kicked his heels off, my son said he had white high heels on, and then he took off running down the street”. Freyermuth was later arrested at a nearby address.
According to the Alliance police, they had received complaints about Freyermuth driving around the area and trying to speak to children. He had been arrested only a few days previously on charges of methamphetamine possession. Mug shots from the two arrests show Freyermuth wearing different styles of blond wig and make-up.
In court, Freyermuth was arraigned on an attempted kidnapping charge and his bond was set at $100,000.
Also Today - A Room of One’s Own #1
KENT ONLINE: A 67-year-old man has been convicted of sex offences after concealing cameras in women’s toilets.
Retired businessman, Philip Woolmer, has been convicted of two charges of voyeurism and one of making indecent images of children after he recorded images using cameras he’d concealed in female public toilets. The crimes were committed in June 2022 at two locations in the Rochester area of Kent.
His offences were initially discovered when one of his victims noticed a black box stuck to a bin in a female toilet. Police then searched Woolmer’s home. He was discovered to be in possession of a number of images, including indecent recordings of children, which had been captured using the hidden camera. In court, a total of 17 clips were shown. These recordings involved eight women and three children and victims’ genitals were on display in many of then. There were also ‘upskirting’ images of woman’s underwear and naked thighs etc.
Several of Woolmer’s victims attended last week’s hearing at Maidstone Crown Court to read impact reports and describe their harrowing ordeals to Judge Catherine Moore. One said that her daughter cried herself to sleep each night after being caught on film and another explained that she now has to check public toilets for recording devices before she or her children can use them.
Woolmer was given a 21-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Judge Moore added a clause to the order banning him from entering any female toilet.
This is why single-sex toilet facilities are vital for women. Because of men like Woolmer.
Tuesday 24th September - Trans Activism’s Double Standards
THE DAILY MAIL: A Scottish woman serving a prison sentence for a violent murder now identifies as a trans man.
In 2008, when aged just 16, Nicolle Earley murdered 63-year-old Ann Gray in her own home. She knocked Ann Gray to the ground and repeatedly stamped on her head. In 2010, Earley was given a life sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 14 years in prison.
In 2016, Earley was in court again after attacking a fellow inmate at Cornton Vale women’s prison, throwing crockery at her head and punching her repeatedly. She pleaded guilty and had another six months added to her sentence. Sheriff William Wood warned her that it could delay her eventual freedom, stating that the conviction would affect the Parole Board.
This week, The Daily Mail reported that Earley is now identifying as a trans man and calling herself Kobi. She remains incarcerated in a female prison, HMP Stirling (which replaced Corton Vale after it closed), and is currently being held in the admission hall. The Scottish Prison Service policy for the ‘Management of Transgender People in Custody’, published in 2023, requires that ‘transgender men’ held in women’s prisons who have been convicted of ‘offences that perpetrate violence against a female’ must be housed separately from the general prison population until the SPS has been able to assess their ‘risk and vulnerability’.
You will notice that this The Daily Mail article refers to Earley with female pronouns throughout. Another of its articles, however, published only a week earlier, refers to trans-identified male convicted baby murderer, Jonathan Richardson (who calls himself Autumn Cordellioné), as she/her throughout. Similarly, a very recent Daily Mail article afforded female pronouns to trans-identified, male, convicted double murderer, Alex Ray Scott, who is also accused of sexually abusing a five-year-old. Another sex offender, Mark ‘Marcia’ Walker, is also referred to with female pronouns throughout a Daily Mail article published only a fortnight ago.
Yet Nicole Earley is still she/her and the paper makes now pretence of upholding her ‘gender identity’ as it does with other violent offenders. What could the difference be?
Wednesday 25th September - A Room of One’s Own #2
THE TELEGRAPH: The nurses taking legal action over a male using their locker room are now being forced to change in an office.
In recent months we have reported on the five nurses taking legal action against an NHS trust in the North East after they were forced to share a supposedly women-only changing room with a male colleague who identifies as trans.
The nurses are all employed at Darlington Memorial Hospital. Since August 2023 they have been expected to share their changing room with a 26-year-old trans-identified male known as ‘Rose’. This man has not undergone any physical alteration and, by his admission, does not take cross-sex hormones because he and his female partner are trying to start a family. The nurses say that ‘Rose’ stares at their breasts when they are changing, walks around in his boxer shorts and lingers in their changing room ‘longer than necessary’.
The changing room is open plan and does not have individual changing cubicles so the women have no escape from ‘Rose’. Unsurprisingly, they have found this situation ‘intimidating and upsetting’, yet, despite raising this issue numerous times with NHS trust managers, no action was taken. In March, 26 nurses made a written complaint to NHS management about this situation. “We do not consider it appropriate to have a sexually active biological male sharing our changing facilities”, they wrote. Their letter also explained that ‘Rose’ takes a ‘keen interest’ in female staff when they get undressed.
The nurses did not receive a written response but say there followed an ‘impromptu meeting’ at which an HR manager told them they ‘need to compromise’. According to further correspondence sent by the nurses, they were instructed by HR to ‘be more inclusive’, ‘broaden their mindset’ and ‘be educated and attend training’. Following this offensive and dismissive response, five of the nurses began legal proceedings against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, claiming harassment, indirect discrimination, victimisation and human rights violations.
This week, The Telegraph reported on the latest development in this news story. In July, the nurses were informed that the ward manager’s office could be used as a ‘temporary’ locker room for women who are uncomfortable undressing in front of trans-identified male colleagues.
The nurses made a joint statement: “We were told the locker room would be ‘temporary’ until a solution was found. This locker room, however, does not appear to be temporary and no solution has been found. Changing in this room has made us feel humiliated, embarrassed, isolated, ostracised, degraded and dehumanised. Ultimately this ‘locker room’ still falls under the same policy as any other changing room facility in the trust and, therefore, if a male identifying as a female wanted to access it, they could.”
Initially, the ‘locker room’ - a cleared-out office space - contained nothing but one chair and a hook on the back of the door. The women using it had to leave clothes and personal belongings etc on the floor, an infection and security risk. Lockers were provided in recent weeks but not in sufficient numbers. This room, in which space is extremely limited, opens straight onto a busy ward corridor and is located opposite a side room used by patients. Consequently, when the door is opened, anyone undressing inside is on public view.
The nurses are also concerned about correspondence from the workforce director at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (Morven Smith, according to LinkedIn). Smith wrote to each nurse, warning them against making any further allegations about the hospital or its staff ‘on any media platforms’ and cautioning that their ‘behaviour’ could lead to disciplinary action. The letter also stated that “Any behaviour, including that outside of work, that is considered inappropriate or disrespectful and/or which is directed towards another employee will not be tolerated and will be investigated appropriately under the trust’s disciplinary policy.”
According to X/Twitter account @CConcern, the sign below appeared on the door to the female staff changing room this week, proclaiming it an ‘inclusive changing space’. (You will notice the two separate demands that the sign must not be removed.)
In their joint statement, the nurses say, “We continue to be appalled at how we and our female colleagues are being humiliated and dehumanised by the hospital and trust. Instead of listening and acting on our concerns and the public and media outcry, they have doubled down, putting transgender ideology before women’s safety”.
Also Today - Within These Walls
IW FEATURES: A female inmate lost her chance of parole after objecting to the law which enforces women to be incarcerated with trans-identified males.
We have reported previously on California law SB 132 - enacted in September 2020 - which requires the state to house trans-identified inmates in prisons based not on their sex but on their gender identity. Under this law, inmates can request their choice of male or female facilities. Such requests cannot be denied solely because of an inmate’s anatomy or because of “a factor present” among other prisoners. So intact trans-identified males - regardless of the nature of their crimes - can be housed with vulnerable female prisoners, even if those women protest.
Huge numbers of male prisoners subsequently claimed a trans identity in order to transfer to the female estate in California. According to official figures, in the first three months alone after the law came into effect, there were 255 requests for transfers to female prisons by trans-identified males. One of the first male prisoners transferred to a women’s prison in California was murderer, Jason Hann (now calling himself Jessica Marie), who killed his own infant children. 4W has reported that one-third of the men requesting a transfer to California’s female estate are sex offenders.
In May 2022, an inmate at the Central California Facility for Women attested that a fellow female prisoner was sexually assaulted by a trans-identified male, Jonathan Roberston (now calling himself Siyaah Skylit), who was incarcerated there.
Earlier this year, 4W reported that a trans-identified male, 52-year-old Tremayne Carroll, who is housed in a California women’s prison, has been charged with two counts of felony rape after attacking his female cell mate.
This week the Independent Women’s Forum reported on Cathleen Quinn, yet another women who has suffered as a result of SB 132.
At the beginning of the year, after serving almost two decades in the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) for second-degree murder, Cathleen was being considered for parole and potentially only months away from release. Around this time she encountered another CCWF inmate, trans-identified male, Michael ‘Oso’ Contreras, who now calls himself Eva Reeves. Contreras was convicted of second-degree murder in 1982 but he is suspected of many more killings. His fellow gang members called him ‘Oso’ - the Spanish word for ‘bear’ - because of his large and intimidating size.
Cathleen believed that Contreras had been watching her while she was using the toilet and found the situation very disturbing. Taking a stand against males being housed in the female estate, she filed a grievance with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) against SB 132. In her complaint, Cathleen detailed her experience of Contreras’ voyeurism so that it would be documented by prison officials in case of other incidents.
When interviewed by the captain on the yard, Cathleen was asked if she feared for her safety. She replied that she did not and that her aim in making the complaint was to protest against the law which allows fully intact males to be incarcerated amongst women. A few days later she was told that the case was closed.
On 30th March, the parole board found Cathleen suitable for parole, following a 150-day review period during which she must remain free of disciplinary write-ups. In June, however, Cathleen was issued a prison write-up which alleged that her complaint regarding the incidences of voyeurism were ‘false reports of criminal conduct’ and constituted harassment based on Contreras’ ‘transgender status’.
This write-up had not yet been adjudicated but the state still vacated Cathleen’s parole grant. She was later exonerated of the allegations in the report, but her opportunity for parole had been lost.
Hector Bravo Ferrel is a former Californian prison guard who has spoken out about the ‘immoral and dangerous’ policy of housing trans-identified males in the female estate. Earlier this year he talked to IWF about the victimisation of female inmates whose voices are being ignored or deliberately shut down. “Each time a female inmate would try to voice her complaints or concerns, they would be retaliated against”, he said.
Thursday 26th September - This Never Happens #2
EASTERN DAILY PRESS: A trans-identified male has confessed to various offences relating to ‘sickening’ indecent images of children.
25-year-old Alfie Howe is described as a ‘man transitioning to live as a woman’ and said to have ‘undergone transitioning surgery’.
In 2021, when Howe was a student living in Lincolnshire, police became aware of an indecent image being uploaded from a device which belonged to him. Officers then searched an address in Norwich at which Howe had been living and seized a mobile phone. Several indecent images and messages were found on it.
Police found over 500 indecent images of children. At least 228 of these were deemed Category A (the most serious classification indicating images which depict penetrative sexual activity, sexual activity involving an animal or sadism) and some even involved babies. At Howe’s trial, Judge Andrew Shaw described the images as ‘depraved’ and ‘sickening’. Also found on Howe’s phone were ‘lurid’ and ‘graphic’ conversations with others about abusing children and infants.
In court this week, Howe admitted to four counts of distributing indecent photos of a child, three counts of making indecent photos of a child and one offence of possessing a prohibited image of a child.
He was given a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years. He is ordered to undertake a 12-month mental health treatment, an accredited programme of up to 40 sessions and 150 hours of unpaid work. He was made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and put on the sex offenders register, also indefinitely.
Andrew Oliver, mitigating, said that Howe had experienced a ‘difficult time’ during the period of offending because he was ‘transitioning’ and ‘awaiting surgery’.
Also Today - This Never Happens #3
REDUXX: A trans-identified male is on trial in Germany, accused of trafficking very young children for the purposes of sexual abuse.
A trans-identified male known only as Arbend is on trial together with his co-accused who Reduxx have named as 81-year-old Munich Millionaire, Helmut Reiner Dorsch.
It is alleged that between 2021 and 2022, Arbend and Dorsch had a sexual relationship with Arbend then agreeing to procure young children for Dorsch to abuse, for which he was financially rewarded. Dorsch reportedly demanded girls as ‘small and slim as possible’ and preferred to abuse children who were below eight years of age. It is also alleged that Arbend recorded Dorsch in the act of raping children to extort further money from him.
The pair were apprehended in June 2023 following an investigation into Arbend’s online activity and they have been in custody ever since. During a recent hearing, Arbend did not comment on the allegations against him but complained that he would suffer if housed in the male estate because of his trans identity. A verdict is not expected until the new year.
Germany’s new Self-Determination Act (SBGG) comes into effect in November. This legislation will allow any man, even a convicted sex offender, to change his legal sex with a quick bit of paperwork at his local registry office. It will also mean that a fine of up to €10,000 could be imposed for revealing someone’s real name and true sex. Sexual predators will have the perfect Trojan horse. And this case demonstrates just how dangerous that law is going to be.
Friday 27th September - A Room of One’s Own #3
THE TELEGRAPH: A man was confronted trying to use the female toilets of a Leeds nightclub and claimed to ‘identify as a woman’.
20-year-old Philosophy student, Connie Shaw, was at the Warehouse nightclub in Leeds when she and a friend encountered a man with a moustache in the women’s toilets. When confronted, he claimed to ‘identify as a woman’ and refused to leave.
Connie told The Telegraph, “There was a bloke in there and they were saying ‘Get out of the toilet, you’re in the women’s loo’ and then he said to them and to me ‘I identify as a woman’. That’s the first thing he said. It’s like he was prepared that if anyone questioned him, that’s what he would say.”
“He said straight away, ‘I identify as a woman,’ because he knows and other men know that that is what will get them into women’s spaces”.
Connie went on to explain that the man was acting suspiciously. “He wasn’t queuing, he was just standing there with his back to the cubicle, just watching.”
One of the club’s bouncers was alerted and he removed the man from the toilet. Connie reported the incident to West Yorkshire Police but they dismissed her concerns, saying that the man’s presence in the female toilet wasn’t a crime and that it was ‘down to the establishment to deal with’.
This is why single-sex toilet facilities are vital for women. Because of men like this.
Also Today - This Unsporting Life
THE TELEGRAPH: The trans-identified male ‘sex worker’ footballer against whom women’s teams have refused to compete, is still playing in the female game.
In November last year we reported on Francesca Needham, a 31-year-old trans-identified male who used to play football for Rossington Ladies in the Sheffield and Hallamshire Women and Girls League.
It is reported that Needham caused a serious injury to an opposition player who suffered a broken knee after she tried to block a shot from him. Consequently, fearing for the wellbeing of their players, a number of teams refused to compete against Rossington Ladies due to Needham’s inclusion on the pitch. The manager of one of the teams explained their position to The Daily Mail. “I have 16 and 17-year-old players playing for me and their parents weren't too keen to put their welfare at risk”.
Another team manager told The Daily Mail that said it was immediately clear that Needham is a trans-identified male. “It was obvious. Unfortunately, the FA allowed it to happen but didn't let anyone know. She's [sic] quite a big strong player. People have refused to play because they are worried about the safety of the players. Psychologically it's quite a big thing, when you are playing against a biological man it's quite scary. They were terrified.”
A further source spoke to The Telegraph of their experience playing against Needham. “Five minutes into our game, it was obvious Francesca was biologically male. The league is competitive and physical… We were gobsmacked. Even the referee at the time couldn’t believe it.” The source explained that they had tried to voice their concerns to the league and to the local FA but never received a response.
The source described the strength of feeling among other teams about the prospect of having to play against a trans-identified male. “We had a Zoom call together and you could feel the emotion pouring out,” they said. “We’ve been terrified of saying anything. We don’t want to be accused of being transphobic. We don’t want the names of our clubs dragged through the mud. It has been like walking on eggshells. I’ve heard of women thinking of deregistering as players because of this. There are psychological scars. It’s not fair.”
With teams refusing to play against them, Needham agreed to withdraw from Rossington Ladies ‘for the foreseeable future’ but threatened legal action over so-called ‘discrimination’.
Writing on the club’s Facebook page, Needham made a statement:
“Rossington Main Ladies FC has faced challenges from teams unwilling to play against us while I am on the field. This unfortunate circumstance has prompted me to investigate pursuing a case of discrimination…
It's disheartening to acknowledge that this situation contradicts everything in the diversity and inclusion policies, given that I have diligently met every single requirement set out by the Football Association to play.
I sincerely hope that this issue of perceived discrimination against me can be resolved peacefully and promptly, with the full support of the Football Association and the policies they have written and approved.”
This week The Telegraph reported that Needham has been playing and training with another women’s team, West End Terriers FC, a club based in Hemsworth, West Yorkshire. He has played with the squad at least three times in ‘friendlies’ over the summer. It appears that Needham was then bumped from the team after failing to register with the Football Association (FA).
Club Secretary, Dale Wainwright, told the paper that he tried to register Needham to play this season but was informed ‘we’re not allowed to sign her [sic]’. He added that Needham was ‘upset’ as a result. The Telegraph has subsequently learned that the FA stepped in after learning that Needham had trained and played for the club, with sources claiming that he chose to not seek registration following talks. The FA was said to have discussed finding a team for Needham at ‘a higher level’.
According to The Daily Mail, “Needham has not been banned from playing and it is understood the FA will continue to support her [sic] if she [sic] wishes to play football at an appropriate level for her [sic]”.
The Daily Mail has previously reported that Needham worked as a prostitute, marketing himself as a ‘pre-op trans girl’ with a ‘surprise’ under his skirt, and that he specialised in schoolgirl and cheerleader fetishism. The paper published details of Needham’s profile on a sex work website where he is known as ‘Cleo’. His profile says that he is bisexual and enjoys a variety of sexual fetishes. It also says that Needham specialises in schoolgirl and cheerleader scenarios.
“Looking for a pre-op trans individual to fulfil your desires? Look no further! I can be your naughty schoolgirl, complete with a surprise under my skirt. Hello to all you adventurous individuals! Are you seeking a unique girlfriend experience or looking to be dominated by someone like me? …We can even roleplay a schoolgirl or cheerleader scenario where I can be your naughty student in need of punishment.”
Needham insisted that he no longer works as a prostitute and that his profile had been accidentally left on the sex worker website.
A source close to the women's football community told The Daily Mail, “It is clear the birth male playing on the ladies team has been a sex worker. This is a massive safeguarding concern. It's worth bearing in mind this birth male would be sharing changing rooms and single-sex spaces with young females”.
Indeed he would. And fully endorsed by the Football Association (FA), football’s governing body in England. The FA’s trans inclusion policy for adult players allows biological males to play in women’s football if they satisfy certain ‘hormone-based requirements’. It considers applications on a case-by-case basis, assessing the ‘safety of the applicant and other players’ and ‘fair competition’.
Football is a contact sport; the safety of ‘other players’ will always be in jeopardy when women are forced to play with or against males. As for ‘fair competition’, the FA’s policy is completely at odds with all the scientific evidence which demonstrates that, even after reducing testosterone levels, even after full ‘transition’, males retain numerous physical and physiological advantages over women and any loss of muscle mass and strength is negligible. The benefits of a male puberty cannot be undone.
An FA spokesperson told The Telegraph, “We have a transgender policy in place that has helped to enable a very small population of transgender women to enjoy playing football in the grassroots game, and we will continue to provide this support on a case-by-case basis”.
There are currently around 70 trans-identified male players who play regularly on women’s teams at a grass roots level.
Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at Sex Matters, commented, “The FA needs to get a grip on this. It can’t be right to approach this one case at a time. Female players need to be confident that they won’t have to face a male player on the pitch or in the changing room. Right now, they just don’t know”.
Also Today - This Never Happens #4
BBC NEWS: A trans-identified male with a rape conviction has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison.
When the BBC initially reported on this case, it described 35-year-old Lexi (formerly Alexander) Secker as a ‘transgender woman’ and wrote that he was ‘living as a man’ when he attacked and raped a woman in Blunsdon, Wiltshire, on 23rd April 2021. At some point between being charged with rape and his case going to trial, Secker developed a trans identity and began calling himself ‘Lexi’.
In July 2024, Secker was convicted of rape following a trial at Swindon Crown Court. Outrageously, the court tried Secker ‘as a woman’. For the crime of rape which, as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, requires a penis.
Wiltshire Police were rather coy about revealing Secker’s true sex when reporting on the case, stating that ‘a person’ had been found guilty of rape.
Their ludicrous press release referred to Seckler with female pronouns throughout.
It was later revealed that Secker is a father of two who does not seem to have undergone any formal ‘gender’ change.
This convicted rapist, to whose newly acquired ‘gender identity’ the courts, police and our national broadcaster all pander so eagerly, does not appear to have made any formal change to his status nor to have undergone any alteration to his physicality.
Secker has fathered children. He was the client of a UK charity called Outset which supports self-employment and skills development. He features on their website and is described as having a young family.
As revealed by Reduxx, Secker became a vitriolic trans activist and maintained an online presence using the name Lexi Bowen.
Both on social media and writing a vitriolic blog, Secker abused, insulted and ranted about various gender-critical women’s rights campaigners such as Rosie Duffield, Maya Forstater, Kellie-Jay Keen and our very own Graham Linehan.
He was, however, particularly fixated on JK Rowling and wrote numerous blogs and tweets about her, calling her a Nazi and a ‘transphobe’. In the example below, Secker attacked JK Rowling for her defence of female-only rape crisis centres.
On 18th June, Secker commented on social media that women’s concerns about single-sex spaces are ‘utter nonsense’ and a ‘moral panic based exclusively on bigotry’. A few days later he was convicted of rape.
This week Secker was back in court for his sentencing hearing. He was sentenced to six and a half years which he will serve in a male prison.
The woman Secker raped was in court to give a victim statement. “He took away my trust in people and myself”, she said. “The assault consumed me with shame and fear”. She added that she has felt ‘unbearable anxiety, shame and fear’ since the attack.
Throughout the proceedings, the barristers and the judge referred to this convicted rapist with female pronouns and called him ‘Ms Secker’. What a cruel insult to his poor victim.
Saturday 28th September - This Never Happens #5
REDUXX: A trans-identified male has been convicted of breaching his sexual harm prevention order after engaging in explicit communication with a child.
25-year-old Chloee-Mae Danvers, also known as Chloee Foreman, is a trans-identified male from Chester. In 2022 he set up a (now deleted) GoFundMe page, hoping to finance cross-sex hormones at a private gender clinic.
In August this year, Danvers, appeared at Chester Crown Court and pleaded guilty to breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order after attempting to contact a child. According to court records, Danvers was in contact with a 9-year-old and ‘engaged in explicitly sexual communication’. He was also found to be using unregistered aliases online and deleting is browsing history, further breaches of his SHPO.
At the time of these crimes, Danvers had already been convicted of separate child sexual offences; possessing an indecent image of a child deemed Category A and making two images deemed Category B.
When local paper, The Chester Standard, reported on Danver’s conviction, his true sex was not mentioned and the article implied that this sex offender is female.
In court, the judge required a pre-sentence report and remarked that a long custodial term is inevitable. Danvers was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in October.
Sunday 29th September - Labour Losing Women
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Rosie Duffield has been forced to resign from the Labour Party over its sleaze, greed and nepotism.
Rosie Duffield, MP for Canterbury, Whitstable and the Villages, has resigned from the Labour Party. She has written to Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, informing him of her decision to resign the Labour whip with immediate effect.
In her letter, Rosie Duffield condemned Starmer’s ‘sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice’ and his ‘cruel and unnecessary policies’.
Rosie Duffield, of course, was one of the very few Labour MPs who dared to speak up in defence of women’s sex-based rights and spaces and she has suffered much for her bravery and her feminism. For years, she has been the subject of an ongoing witch hunt, erroneously accused of bigotry and transphobia. She has received untold harassment and abuse, even from within her own party.
In October 2020, Rosie Duffield told The Times that discussing women’s rights is almost impossible within the Labour Party and that women are being silenced. “The vast majority of my colleagues are afraid to even raise it as a subject that we should be talking about… It’s just a vehicle to attack women in public. I feel like my female mouth is being well and truly closed without ever actually having been opened.”
Rosie Duffield’s refusal to be brow-beaten made a lot of males within the Labour Party very cross indeed.
There were calls for her to be de-selected as an MP, she suffered criticism and vilification from her own party colleagues and there was total silence and the cold shoulder from party leader, Keir Starmer.
You may remember that Rosie Duffield was snubbed by Keir Starmer when the Labour Party staged its election launch in Kent, the county where she was the only elected Labour MP.
This week, following her resignation, Rosie Duffield spoke to the BBC about her reasons for leaving Labour; the party has become ‘more about greed and power than it has about making a difference’.
Appearing on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Rosie was asked if she thinks Starmer has a problem with women. She replied, “I’m afraid I do, yes. I’ve experienced it myself. Most backbenchers that I’m friends with are women. Most of us refer to the young men who surround him [Starmer] as ‘the lads’. It’s very clear that ‘the lads’ are in charge and they’ve now got their Downing Street passes”.
See you next week.
Inclusive changing room- do not remove this sign. Literally a safe place to bully, intimidate and perv over women. And in our state funded NHS. How can management be ok with this when obviously these women are going to wipe the floor with them in court. What a waste of funding as well as a huge safeguarding and moral failure. Thanks JL.
I can only sigh deeply and say thanks as ever JL.