The Good News Supplement: Monday 1st April - Sunday 7th April

JK Rowling Wonder Woman - IMAGE CREDIT: @doodlewhale

Another jam-packed edition absolutely bulging at the seams with good news from the gender beat this week. Enjoy!

They See Her Rowling

JK Rowling proved herself yet again an absolute queen as she took aim at Scotland’s ludicrous hate crime law which took effect on Monday 1st April.

In a thread on X (formerly Twitter), she listed some egregious examples of the prominent males who appropriate womanhood.

Given it was April Fool’s Day, she began with her tongue firmly in her cheek.

But she ended the thread in all seriousness. “The people in the above tweets aren’t women at all, but men, every last one of them”, she said. And then she issued this blistering and unequivocal challenge; #ArrestMe.

It was a shot across the bows of the hate crime bill and executed with razor sharp precision. If these words break the law, she declared, the police can come and get me.

The police declined. “The force said complaints had been received but no action would be taken.” JK Rowling will not be arrested, nor will she have a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) recorded against her.

In one fell swoop, not only did JK Rowling de-fang this ludicrous law…

But she also volunteered to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any woman who may yet fall foul of it. A true feminist and an absolute warrior queen.

As Suzanne Moore so rightly put it, “Here was a lesson in solidarity, in sisterhood and the simple but incendiary power of saying no”.

Alba On The Case

Staying with the subject of the Hate Crime Act, Scottish political party, Alba, has launched a petition to repeal this ridiculous legislation.

Alba MSP, Ash Regan, supported the bill when she was an SNP junior minister in 2021. Writing in The Times this week she said, “The reality, three years on, is that Scotland, our police and Parliament have been embarrassed, left to traverse a self-destructive pathway... I must now side with those who call for repeal”.

To sign the petition, click here.

Conversion Concerns

In huge news for the clinical professions, the UK Council for Psychotherapy has withdrawn from the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy.

“After very careful consideration, UKCP has taken the decision to withdraw its signature from the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK v2 (MoU) and its membership of the Coalition Against Conversion Therapy.”

The Memorandum of Understanding is an inter-professional agreement upholding gender ideology and requiring therapists to affirm gender identities over exploratory treatment options. It was signed by leading UK therapy organisations, employers of therapists and activist organisations including Stonewall. Consequently, UKCP’s withdrawn from the MoU is hugely significant.

UKCP’s withdrawal could well pave the way for - and indeed put pressure on - other organisations to take similar action.

On a similar theme, the Scottish professional association of solicitors has criticised the proposed ‘conversion therapy’ ban for being too broad and interfering with people’s basic rights.

The Law Society of Scotland made a submission to the Scottish Government saying a ‘more precise’ approach is required using ‘clear and meticulously drafted’ wording.

Sunlight Pours In

Delivering a further blow to gender ideology, a ‘landmark’ long-term study has shown that the majority of gender-distressed children grow out of such feelings by the time they reach adulthood.

Researchers in The Netherlands undertook a 15 year study tracking more than 2,700 children aged 11 to their mid-twenties, charting their feelings about their gender every three years. Results showed that, at the start of the research, around 11% of children expressed distress over their gender to varying degrees. But by the age of 25, only 4% said they were ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ discontent with their gender.

The researchers concluded: “The results of the current study might help adolescents to realize that it is normal to have some doubts about one’s identity and one’s gender identity during this age period and that this is also relatively common”.

Sweet Charity

Sex Matters announced some wonderful news this week; they’re a charity!

This week the Charity Commission approved Sex Matters’ application to be registered as a charity. For more information do have a gander at their website.

One of the first acts Sex Matters intends as a charity is to apply to intervene in the For Women Scotland case in the Supreme Court.

Sex Matters says, “Administratively there is some work to do before we can start accepting donations to the charitable incorporated organisation; we will be in touch with supporters as soon as this is organised. Join our mailing list and we will write to you”.

Our huge congratulations to everyone at Sex Matters and we wish them every success.

Reem On Tickle v Giggle

Reem Alsalem, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and girGs, has provided her input on the meaning of the word ‘woman’ in the case of Tickle v Giggle before the Federal Court of Australia.

“While not addressing or defining the terms ‘sex’ or ‘gender’, many foundational human rights treaties, and declarations, including CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and Girls), enshrine a prohibition of discrimination based on sex which can only be taken to mean as referring to biological sex.”

You can Reem Alsalem’s full statement here.

Glinner Down Under

Our Graham has been having a very busy time in Australia. There was a hugely successful book launch for Tough Crowd in Melbourne.

And events in Hobart...

And in Adelaide…

And a comedy class in Sydney

He’s also been hanging out with heroes of the Oz Resistance.

Don’t miss him in conversation with Tony Moclair on 3AW Melbourne (26th March from around 1:37).

And speaking to Rita Panahi (at around 39:00).

And speaking to Alexandra Marshall of Spectator TV (from around 6:55).

And despite his hectic schedule down under, Graham even had time to write for The Spectator: Why Aren’t I More Afraid of Scotland’s Hate Crime Act?

“On one side, you see failing media, captured institutions and increasingly desperate activists, and on the other, a public that is awakening to the madness of all this. There may be a few circuits left on the rollercoaster ride, but if you can hang on just a little bit longer, we’ll soon be back on solid ground.”

And Finally…