A Week in the War on Women Monday 25th July - Sunday 31st July GOOD NEWS SUPPLEMENT
What a week! Break open the bubbly and enjoy this jam-packed edition of good news stories from the gender beat.
Allison Victorious
Though competition is fierce, one of the best news items of the week has to be Allison Bailey’s landmark legal victory.
Judgment in Allison Bailey's employment tribunal was handed down on Wednesday. It found unanimously that she was discriminated against and victimised by Garden Court Chambers on the basis of her gender critical beliefs.
Allison issued a press release in which she stated, “This is a vindication for all those who, like me, object to the erasure of biological sex, of women, and of same sex attraction as material realities. It represents judicial recognition of the abuse waged against us… I did not win everything, but I won the most important thing: I have brought Stonewall’s methods into the public eye, and I have shown them for what they now are.”
Georgina Calvert-Lee, employment law and equality expert at Bellevue Law, said the judgment was “A clear reminder to employers that they have obligations both to transgender employees and to those with gender critical views. Employers should take care to ensure steps taken with the laudable intention of supporting and including transgender people don’t inadvertently infringe upon the rights of others. It can be a difficult balance, and employers should take advice from lawyers, rather than interest groups.”
Writing in The Spectator, James Kirkup commented:
“Allison Bailey’s willingness to go against senior members of her own small and powerful profession over such a contentious issue, required extraordinary courage. The same can and should be said of Maya Forstater, who was also operating as a contractor in a small, well-connected and politicised sector…
Allison Bailey is brave. So is Maya Forstater. Everyone is better off for their bravery. I hope those who remained silent while those women fought on will now find their own voices.”
A Reminder That Sex Matters
In light of the judgement in Allison Bailey’s case, Sex Matters will be writing to Stonewall ‘champions’ and other organisations to remind them of their responsibility to protect gender-critical employees from discrimination and harassment.
If you’d like to nominate your employer for a reminder from Sex Matters (or to download a poster, flag or leaflet) you can do so here.
The Dominoes Tumble
On the subject of Stonewall, their recent pronouncement about trans two-year-olds hasn’t gone unnoticed in the corridors of power.
Ministers are preparing to block Sheldon Mills, chairman of Stonewall’s board of trustees, from leading the Competition and Markets Authority. Mills had been tipped as the watchdog’s next chief executive. However, The Telegraph reports that ministers will refuse to sign off on his appointment due to his association with Stonewall.
Only recently the Competition and Markets Authority severed ties with Stonewall. A Whitehall source told the paper, “We want to avoid a politically controversial candidate such as Sheldon. We’ve just persuaded them to stop paying money to Stonewall. The last thing we need is a chief executive who is a paid-up supporter. We won’t have him.”
The Tavistock To Close
The other huge news story this week is that GIDS, the Tavistock and Portman’s gender mincing machine, is to be closed down within the year following a damning report by the Cass Review.
Paediatrician, Dr Hilary Cass, has found that the gender identity service at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust is ‘not a safe or viable long-term option’ for the treatment of gender-confused young people and it will close by next spring.
It will be replaced by regional centres at existing children’s hospitals. Patients will be offered more ‘holistic care’ with ‘strong links to mental health services’.
Vindication for the incredibly courageous and principled people - Stephanie Davies-Arai, Sue and Marcus Evans, Keira Bell, Sonia Appleby, David Bell, Rachel Rooney, Hannah Barnes, Deborah Cohen, Stella O’Malley, James Esses, Jo Bartosch, Michael Biggs, Michele Moore, JK Rowling, Janice Turner, Victoria Smith, Helen Joyce, Sarah Ditum, Rebecca Reilly-Cooper, Abigail Shrier and, of course, our very own Graham Linehan (amongst many others) - who have had the bravery and integrity to report on, protest and challenge the medicalisation of vulnerable children. Our heartfelt thanks and admiration to them all.
Lia Will Stay In His Lane
Lia Thomas has been knocked out of the running for NCAA Woman of the Year.
The NCAA announced its conference selections for the 2022 Woman of the Year award on Monday. For the Ivy League pick it named Columbia University fencer, Sylvie Binder, over trans-identified male swimmer, Lia Thomas.
Kicking Unfairness Into Touch
The RFU, the governing body for rugby union in England, has ruled that trans-identified males cannot participate in women’s contact rugby.
“Trans women, irrespective of if they have played contact rugby previously, will no longer be able to participate in the female category for contact rugby.”
And, from next month, the same regulations will apply to rugby league.
The new RFL policy means that, over the age of twelve, the women’s game at all levels will be solely for players whose sex was recorded as female at birth.
Everything In The Garden Is Rosie
Rosie Duffield will be reselected as the Labour candidate for Canterbury in the next election.
Dates For Your Diary
Tickets are now available for the LGB Alliance conference which features some legendary speakers and will be held on 21st October.
And you can also get tickets for the next Oxford Feminist Union event, also featuring some amazing speakers, to be held on 10th September.
Thank you, it's been a wonderful week for women!
Although Allison's win was only partial and she deserved a much larger award, most of the serious press commented favourably on the importance of her win. As with Maya, as long as this is considered front page news, it's great.
Wonderful news all round. The only downside to me is that the Tavistock is not closing this very second. They need a team to swiftly move in immediately before any evidence is destroyed. People have to be held accountable for harm done. This sort of infamy and ill-treatment of children must never happen again. Those harmed and in the process of being harmed must be cared for.