Press

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Sex Matters in the media

Mentions of Sex Matters in the press are listed and searchable below.

2024

22nd November

This week’s coverage opened with mentions of the now-dropped police investigation against Maya Forstater for social media posts in 2023. Writing for the Daily Mail, Julie Bindel mentioned Maya in an article on her own experience of being investigated for a “hate crime”, which was covered by Eliana Silver for GB News. Maya was also mentioned by Mary Harrington in an article for UnHerd on how Franz Kafka predicted the age of “petty tyranny” in modern-day Britain.

Next, Fiona McAnena wrote an article for The Telegraph on why the Football Association and Gary Lineker’s silence on the plight of a 17-year-old female football player who was disciplined for asking if a bearded opponent was a man must be fought. Fiona highlighted the hypocrisy of the FA focusing on female health, wellbeing, and safeguarding in its newly launched strategy for women’s and girls’ football, and flagged that in 2003 the FA pointed out that letting male players with trans identities into women’s games could threaten the requirement for a level playing field in sport.

Helen Joyce was interviewed by Claire Foges on LBC on the scandal surrounding breastfeeding charity La Leche League GB (LLLGB), which has seen whistleblowing trustees forced out for trying to protect the organisation’s charitable aim to provide services for mothers, as defined by UK law, in the face of bullying and pressure from LLL International to include men who want to breastfeed as beneficiaries.

Sex Matters’ concerns that the government’s new digital identity and verification system could be compromised due to incorrect data on sex was covered by a number of IT and technology media outlets. Catherine Knowles for TechDay’s IT Brief and Security Brief, as well as Masha Borak for Biometric Update, cited Sex Matters’ criticism of the reliance on data from DVLA, the passport office and the NHS, which routinely alter sex markers on official records. Maya was quoted as saying that corrupted data on sex will cause serious harm to individuals in areas including healthcare, policing, sport and single-sex services.

Maya’s employment tribunal was mentioned by Kimi Robinson for USA Today, Brendan McFadden for Daily Express US, and The Week in coverage of HBO’s statement that JK Rowling has the “right to express” her gender-critical views.

Fiona was interviewed by Alex Phillips at TalkTV on comments made by Alex Sobel MP on “gender neutral” language in healthcare.

Finally, Sex Matters’ submission to For Women Scotland’s Supreme Court case next week was mentioned in an article by Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn for The Critic. The article speculated whether the case could be First Minister John Swinney’s “Isla Bryson moment”, referencing the controversy that contributed to Nicola Sturgeon’s political downfall.

15th November

This week’s coverage began with Sam Merriman for the Daily Mail reporting that councils are asking parents what gender their three-year-old children identify as when registering for school. The software comes from an external provider and is used by more than 100 local authorities in London and the north of England. Maya Forstater called for the question to be scrapped and said that projecting the adult beliefs and concepts of transactivism onto children is not only ludicrous but also harmful. The news was also covered by Alex Barton for The Telegraph.

Martina Navratilova and Sharron Davies’ challenge to Gary Lineker to address football’s failure to stop men playing in women’s leagues was covered by Tom Morgan for The Telegraph. Sex Matters trustee Emma Hilton asked why he isn’t speaking up for women and girls, and said that men need to raise this given that women have been carrying this issue for years. She also said that it was hard to see the hero men of football history struck dumb by these issues. The news was also covered by Tom Parsons for the Daily Express.

James Beal for The Times, Martin Beckford for the Daily Mail, Tom McArdle for The Telegraph, and Perry Chiaramonte for the New York Sun covered the news that the US-based La Leche League (LLL) founder Marian Tompson, 94, and British trustee Miriam Main have quit over the new generation of leadership’s inclusion of men in breastfeeding support services. Helen Joyce said that the situation at LLL is one of the starkest examples of how gender-identity ideology turns organisations upside-down, and that by including men who want to breastfeed in its services, LLL is destroying its founding mission to support breastfeeding mothers. Helen was interviewed by Jeremy Kyle on TalkTV about the story.

Martin also reported that EHRC chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner is being kept on in her role for another year. Maya said that the extension of Baroness Falkner’s leadership sends a clear message to the activist lobby that went as far as trying to involve the United Nations to unseat her, and that she has been heroic in her battle to ensure everyone’s rights are respected

Sophie Perry for Pink News reported that equalities minister Anneliese Dodds was facing flak on social media for meeting with Sex Matters. The article reported Sex Matters’ photograph and post on social media about the meeting, but didn’t elaborate on or give examples of any criticism faced by Dodds.

Dominating news the rest of the week was coverage of the police investigation faced by Maya for “malicious communication” over a tweet, following the news that Allison Pearson of The Telegraph faces a similar investigation. Charles Hymas of The Telegraph reported that Maya had been under investigation since June 2023 and was initially only told that this related to a post “targeted” at a member of the transgender community. She then attended an interview and discovered that it related to a transgender GP who she had claimed “enjoys intimately examining female patients without their consent”, for which she said she has evidence. Maya was quoted in the article as saying that she expresses her views because they are important to her, and that she considers them to be a legitimate contribution to an ongoing political debate. The news was also covered by Alex Farber for The Times, Shannon McGuigan for Mail Online, Julia Hartley-Brewer for The Sun, and Eliana Silver for GB News. Maya appeared on Nick Ferrari’s show on LBC to discuss Allison’s story.

Following these reports, the police announced that they had dropped their investigation in a story broken by Katherine Lawton and Shannon at MailOnline, following which Maya was interviewed by Ben Leo on GB News. The update was subsequently reported by Charles Hymas for The Telegraph and GB News in two articles by Gabrielle Wilde and Jack Walters.

8th November

This week’s coverage began with Richard Marsden and Sam Merriman’s article for the Daily Mail revealing that Scouts as young as eight are being made to play a ‘pronoun’ game and urged to use language such as ‘parents’ instead of mum and dad. Maya Forstater said that the activities are a shocking abuse of the trust parents place in the Scouts, and that requiring children and families who join the Scouts to be indoctrinated into this ideology is belief discrimination. The news was also covered by Craig Simpson for The Telegraph, and Maya’s remarks were quoted on Sky News’ Breakfast with Anna Jones.

Writing for The Spectator, Julie Bindel mentioned Maya as one of the women who spoke at the protest against Germany’s new self-ID law on 1st November at the German Embassy in London.

Next, Max Stephens for The Telegraph covered the news that Marks and Spencer was advertising girls’ first-time bras as being for “young things” instead of girls. Helen Joyce said that it is incredible to see retailers bend over backwards to accommodate the feelings of a tiny number of men and boys who are unhappy about being male and want everyone else to pretend they are female. The story was also covered by Mario Ledwith for The Times, Rebecca Robinson for the Daily Express, Matt Strudwick for Mail Online and Jack Walters for GB News.

Sex Matters’ intervention in the For Women Scotland vs Scottish Ministers case, which will be heard in the Supreme Court later this month, was mentioned in an article by Scottish Legal News on the publication of Scottish Lesbians’ intervention.

Tom Morgan and Ben Rumbsy wrote for The Telegraph on the news that a 17-year-old female footballer with suspected autism has been given a six-match ban by the Football Association (FA) for asking a trans-identifying male player if he is a man. Fiona McAnena was quoted as saying that the FA has declared open season on women and girls by determining that no one can question a male player participating in a women’s game and that the FA’s new strategy for women’s and girls’ football is worthless as long as its transgender inclusion policy is in place.

Helen wrote for The Critic on how the normalising of violent sex acts offers predators a plethora of new paths to semi-plausible deniability, and that even as consent is increasingly understood as vital, other protections against bad sexual encounters are being dismantled.

Finally, Maya appeared on Julia Hartley-Brewer’s show on TalkTV to discuss the news that Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre has been ordered to pay £70,000 to Roz Adams, who was found by a tribunal earlier this year to have been unlawfully discriminated against by the centre over her gender-critical beliefs.

1st November

This week’s coverage began with Fiona McAnena’s article for the Daily Express on the recent controversy which saw the Football Association discipline a 17-year-old female player, possibly autistic, for asking a player on a female team if he was a man. Fiona argued that women are losing fairness and safety, as well as privacy, as a result of the FA’s policies, and that with the FA disciplining players on such matters, they are losing the right to even say so.

Sam Merriman for the Daily Mail revealed that NHS England had been doing mandatory equality and diversity training since August which involved telling staff members that women are “transphobic” if they don’t want to share a bathroom with a male colleague who identifies as female. NHS England removed the training after Maya Forstater wrote to chief executive Amanda Pritchard, saying that the training in respect of sex, gender reassignment and belief discrimination conflicts with and in some places actively contradicts the law. The news was also covered by Alex Barton for The Telegraph and Holly Bishop for GB News.

Fiona appeared on Kevin O’Sullivan’s show on TalkTV to discuss the NHS England training story in a segment which also covered the rise of so-called “species dysphoria” following reports that another child in a Scottish school is being permitted by the local council to identify as an animal.

Writing for the Sunday Post, Mary Wright covered the news that many of Scotland’s frontline police officers have not been given essential domestic-abuse training, while almost 15,000 have undergone hate-crime training. Helen Joyce was quoted as saying that most citizens care a lot more about preventing and punishing violent crimes than about policing words, especially when factual statements about biological sex have been rebranded “hateful” under Orwellian hate-crime law. Mary’s story also ran in the Edinburgh Reporter.

Lizzie Roberts for The Times reported that the co-founder of Scotland’s first rape-crisis centre, Rosemary Whyte, has urged 16 other centres to follow Glasgow’s lead by restoring female-only services. Maya was quoted as saying that if Rape Crisis Scotland continues to flout its own principles when it comes to single-sex services, and refuses to say what it means by “women”, it would not be surprising to see other centres leave too.

Two broadcast interviews on GB News were missed from last week’s media roundup. Maya appeared on Free Speech Nation with Andrew Doyle to outline what For Women Scotland’s upcoming Supreme Court case means for women’s rights, while Fiona was interviewed by Ben Leo about the SNP’s claim that there are 24 genders in official guidance issued to public bodies about recording identities.

25th October

This week’s coverage began with Sam Merriman for the Daily Mail and Connor Stringer for The Telegraph revealing that the National Governance Association (NGA) has been advising school governors and trustees that teachers who identify as transgender can use the bathrooms and changing rooms of their choice. Maya Forstater said that the NGA’s interpretation of the Equality Act is incorrect and that the NGA and schools that follow its guidance could leave themselves vulnerable to legal challenges.

Michael Searles for The Telegraph revealed that, in a recent job advertisement for a clinical psychologist position, the new Nottingham Young People’s Gender Service listed a requirement to practise in line with WPATH’s widely criticised SOC8 guidelines. Helen Joyce warned that the clinic risks becoming “Tavistock v2” and that leaked materials from WPATH revealed the cavalier attitude of many gender clinicians towards patient wellbeing and informed consent.

Also for The Telegraph, Fiona McAnena contributed an op-ed on the news that the Football Association is disciplining a 17-year-old girl with likely autism for asking a male player in a women’s football match whether he was a man. Fiona argued that while allowing male players into women’s football is bad enough, the FA has compounded the problem by making it a disciplinary matter to question it.

Next, Jonathan Ames reported for The Times (print only) that Andreas Mueller and Elspeth Duemmer-Wrigley – from the Sex Equality and Equity Network (SEEN) in the civil service – are being sued by a colleague who claims that their view that people who identify as transgender cannot change sex is discriminatory. Maya said that the harm would be felt not only right across the civil service but in workplaces all over the UK if they lost the claim, and that it would give transactivists something close to an ideological veto over staff networks. The news was also covered by Alex Barton for The Telegraph and George Bunn for GB News.

Sex Matters’ intervention in For Women Scotland’s Supreme Court case next month was mentioned in an article by Scottish Legal News.

Sex Matters was also mentioned by Helen Dale for Quillette in a review of Helen Pluckrose’s new book on surviving social justice ideology in workplaces and schools. The author mentioned Sex Matters as one of a number of UK organisations in the “anti-cancellation sector”.

James Saunders for GB News covered the news that Tory councillor Ed Pitt Ford criticised his Labour-run council for not consulting “trans and non-binary communities” on new public toilets. Fiona was quoted as saying that everyone is either male or female, and that if this local councillor thinks there should be a third, gender-neutral option for public toilets, he could say so.

Sex Matters had three appearances on TalkTV this week. Fiona was interviewed by Ian Collins on the England and Wales Cricket Board’s decision to allow men who identify as women compete in amateur female leagues and by Kevin O’Sullivan on the SNP’s claim that there are 24 genders in official guidance issued to public bodies about recording identities. Maya was interviewed by Julia Hartley-Brewer on the damning findings from the Charity Commission’s inquiry into the charity Mermaids.

18th October

This week’s coverage began with Craig Simpson for The Telegraph on the news that a Welsh council has included King Arthur in a historical “LGBTQ+ timeline” because of a legend that he once wore women’s clothing in order to visit a girl. Fiona McAnena said that whether it’s Joan of Arc or King Arthur, it makes no sense to apply today’s baffling ideologies to historical or legendary figures who wore clothes typical of the opposite sex for whatever reason.

Next, Sam Merriman for the Daily Mail covered the news that one of the UK’s most respected doctors, Professor Karol Sikora, weighed in to correct James Paget Hospital on its guidance that babies are “assigned” a “gender” at birth. Helen Joyce had said that the leadership at the hospital needs to get a grip, say no to its transactivist staff and return to recognising that accurate language about the two sexes matters in healthcare.

Jennifer Hyland for the Sunday Mail mentioned Naomi Cunningham’s role as barrister for a nurse in Fife who is taking a case against the NHS. The nurse is taking the NHS to an employment tribunal after she was disciplined for complaining about a male staff member who identifies as female using the women’s changing room.

Naomi was also mentioned in an article by Mike Wade for The Times in her capacity as counsel for Roz Adams, who was found by an employment tribunal to have unfairly lost her job at the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. At a redress hearing, Adams said that it beggars belief that Rape Crisis Scotland has yet to agree on a clear definition of “women”.

JK Rowling’s first tweet in support of Maya Forstater was mentioned in an article by Lydia Spencer-Elliott for The Independent on the author’s response to the recent incident at a Butlin’s holiday camp which saw a security officer suspended after removing five trans-identifying men from a female toilet.

Analysis by Sex Matters that 21 government bodies have distanced themselves from Stonewall was mentioned by Sanchez Manning for The Telegraph in an article on the demise of the charity’s Diversity Champions programme.

Next, Sam Merriman and Martin Beckford for the Daily Mail reported that trans and non-binary categories have been added to official forms for reporting the death of a child. Helen said that the ill-conceived, agenda-driven question on the gender identity of the dead child needs to be dropped immediately.

Albert Tait for The Telegraph covered the news that Robert Laverick was suspended as a volunteer at Samaritans after he publicly called for the charity to drop its ties with Gendered Intelligence and posted about the independent review by Professor Louis Appleby which debunked transactivist claims about child suicide. Maya was quoted as saying that organisations like the Samaritans should be taking the review on board, not reprimanding volunteers for sharing it publicly.

Writing on the news that the BBC has nominated a male footballer with a DSD for the Women’s Footballer of the Year prize, Paul Revoir and Sam Merriman for the Daily Mail (print only) quoted Fiona as saying that the BBC is spreading confusion around this problem for women’s sport.

Finally, Ben Rumsby for The Telegraph revealed that the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has released a new policy which will see male players who identify as women banned from elite female competition, but not from amateur leagues. Fiona called the move a disastrous, two-tier policy and said that anyone who has played cricket knows that it’s neither fair nor safe for women to face male bowlers and batsmen. She warned about the potential impact on the pipeline of player development and said that the ECB is sending a message to women and girls that unless you’re a top player, you don’t get fair play. The news was also covered by SkySports.

11th October

Anita Singh for The Telegraph kicked off this week’s coverage with the news that Cheltenham Literature Festival issued a warning notice to speakers which compared gender-critical views to racism and homophobia. Festival organisers sent an email asking session hosts to reinforce that the festival does not endorse any “harmful” views that might be shared on stage, together with a list of such views, in which gender-critical was listed first. Helen Joyce said that the festival is only revealing publicly the degree of hostility routinely suffered in private by gender-critical women in literary circles, and that organisers should be pressed to explain exactly how these views might be “harmful”. The news was also reported by Lettice Bromovksy for Mail Online.

Andrew Learmonth for The Herald covered the news that Sex Matters, along with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International, Scottish Lesbians, LGB Alliance and the Lesbian Project, has been granted permission to intervene in the landmark Supreme Court case brought by For Women Scotland, which is due to be heard next month. Maya Forstater said that Sex Matters will be calling on the Supreme Court to focus on the protections for universal human rights that are at stake, and to recognise that while everyone has the right to express themselves, dress how they please and call themselves what they want, this does not override the right of women to privacy, dignity, fairness and autonomy.

Spiked published the full transcript of Helen’s recent interview with Fraser Myers, in which she talked about how the pro-trans movement sold the lie of “gender-affirming care”.

Next, Michael Searles for The Telegraph and Shaun Wooller for the Daily Mail reported that the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) is the latest organisation to cut ties with Stonewall. Fiona McAnena said that the college’s decision sends a clear message that it is putting evidence and the wellbeing of patients ahead of the demands of transactivist lobbyists. She added that RCPsych’s recognition that the ideological position of Stonewall may conflict with the professional practice of its members is a significant statement, and that it will put pressure on the college’s peers, such as the Royal College of GPs and Royal College of Midwives, to follow suit.

Finally, Michael and his colleague Tim Sigswoth at The Telegraph covered the news that James Paget University Hospitals Trust in Great Yarmouth has issued a new document that urges staff to not describe babies as “born male or female” and that they should use the phrase “assigned female/male at birth”. Helen said that it is hard to fathom that any hospital is still promoting transactivist language more than two years after the then Health Secretary instructed the NHS to return to biologically accurate language, and that the hospital leadership needs to get a grip, say no to its transactivist staff and return to recognising accurate language. Helen was interviewed on the story by Mike Graham for TalkTV.

4th October

This week’s coverage began with Michael Searles and Connor Stringer’s article for The Telegraph on a leaflet given to patients at NHS cancer centres, including Weston Park Cancer Centre in Sheffield, which states that surgery to remove body parts containing tumours can be “gender-affirming”. The leaflet was made by Macmillan in partnership with a charity called Outpatients. Helen Joyce said that the material was staggeringly insensitive and inappropriate, and the suggestion that life-saving surgery for cancer patients might offer some kind of two-for-one deal, with gender affirmation thrown in, is frankly disgusting.

Rebecca Camber for the Daily Mail reported that rapist Lexi Secker, a man who identifies as a woman, has been sentenced to six and a half years in a men’s prison. Wiltshire Police faced criticism last month after refusing to specify the defendant’s biological sex, saying that “the crime was recorded as being committed by a male”, but Secker went on trial “as a woman”. The article quoted Fiona McAnena’s comment at the time that it is very concerning to see the police pandering to the feelings of trans-identifying males, which does not give confidence that they are policing without fear or favour.

Sex Matters’ appointment of four new trustees was reported by Emily Moss for Civil Society in the publication’s fortnightly roundup of appointments and people moving roles in the charity sector. Naomi Cunningham was quoted as saying that Sex Matters was blown away by the number – over 50 – and calibre of the applicants, all passionate about the protection of sex-based rights, and that the new trustees will play a crucial role in shaping the organisation and taking our influence and impact to the next level.

Helen’s article for The Critic this month focused on gender clinics offering “post-truth medicine” in a charade that relies merely on the symbols of evidence-based medicine. Also for The Critic, Victoria Smith mentioned Maya Forstater among women who have experienced suffering such as job losses, public shamings and physical assaults in a review of Jenny Lindsay’s new book Hounded.

Rod Minchin for PA news agency mentioned Sex Matters’ intervention in the case of school worker Kristie Higgs, who is appealing against her dismissal from a Church of England school in relation to posts on her personal Facebook page regarding relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) at primary schools (which her children were attending). Minchin’s article was published by The Independent, the Evening Standard, BBC News in a piece co-written with Steven Mellen, and 17 regional newspapers from across England, Wales and Scotland.

Staff writers at Christian Today and Lydia Davies at Premier Christian News also mentioned Sex Matters’ intervention in their coverage of the story, as did Tim Dieppe for The Critic and Kate Jones for the Wilts and Gloucestershire Herald, the area in which the school is located.

A second story by Tom Pilgrim for PA, which also referenced Sex Matters, covered day one of the Court of Appeal hearing, at which lawyers for Higgs claimed she lost her role because of the unlawful stereotyping of her beliefs over gender and sexual ethics as homophobic and transphobic. The story was published by 33 regional newspapers across the UK, including Bury Times and the Oxfordshire Herald.

Also for PA, Storm Newton reported that delegates at the Royal College of GPs annual conference were told that GPs should consider pronoun badges, progress pride flags and posters signposting teenagers to “transgender services”, as well as changing the “gender” on children’s medical records. Fiona said that the last thing vulnerable children and their parents need when seeking evidence-based treatment is to have collateral representing a harmful, anti-science agenda pushed in their faces, and that GPs should follow the recommendations of the Cass Review instead. The story was published by Yahoo News, The Irish News, Shropshire Star, Rutland Times and the Express and Star. Michael Searles for The Telegraph also picked up the story. Fiona was interviewed on the story by Mike Graham for TalkTV.

Finally, Dan Barker and Claire Elliot for the Mail Online reported that JK Rowling was among nearly 3,000 people who declared themselves to be a “believer in biology” in the 2022 Scottish census. Maya Forstater was quoted as saying that this is further proof that sex and gender is not a fringe issue to be dismissed, and that it is a direct reflection of deep dissatisfaction that the census did not ask clearly and simply for biological sex.

27th September

This week’s coverage began with Albert Tait and Connor Stringer for The Telegraph on new guidance for care homes on “trans and non-binary inclusion”. The “Circle” guide, which was one of the outputs of a £70K study, was dismissive of evidence that people with dementia can become distressed by changes to their body that they no longer understand, such as breast implants in men. Helen Joyce said that the guide is a shocking example of the way transactivism harms the most vulnerable in society and that rather than offering practical, compassionate advice on how to provide care in these difficult situations, the guide treats vulnerable residents as props in a fantasy of gender affirmation.

Next, Jennifer Hyland for Scotland’s Sunday Mail wrote two articles on the crisis facing Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis Scotland following the damning independent review into Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. Maya Forstater was quoted in her article, which described how Brindley offered the Sunday Mail the phone numbers of female survivors of sexual assault who would back her up amid calls for her to quit. Maya said that it is clear that for years, Brindley has put her own ideological position ahead of all other considerations, including the wellbeing of survivors.

A second article by Jennifer (print only) reported that analysis by Sex Matters has found that Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) is in breach of 80% of its own standards by including trans-identifying men as women. Our analysis found that the organisation has broken or not adhered to 51 of 61 Rape Crisis National Service Standards, which are set by RCS and its peers across the UK.

Maya was also quoted in an article by Jeremy Watson for The Times on the fallout following JK Rowling’s call for Brindley to quit her post. She said that as long as Brindley fails to accept that men who identify as women are not actually women, and have no place in women-only organisations, Rape Crisis Scotland will continue to fail in its crucial mission.

Coverage of Sex Matters trustee Dr Michael Biggs’ work to scrutinise the failed 2021 Census question on gender continued this week. Francine Wolfisz for the Mail Online wrote about Michael’s two-year battle to get the ONS data reviewed and discredited, while Marina Terrangi for the Italian newspaper Il Folgio referenced Michael’s role in coverage of the news. Michael was also interviewed by Tim Harford on the BBC Radio 4 programme More or Less, which reported the story behind the flawed statistics.

Helen was interviewed by Fraser Myers for Spiked’s video series on the damage the trans movement is doing to society and how gender-identity ideology threatens women, children and gay people. She explained how it became taboo to tell the truth about biological sex, and how the spread of gender-identity ideology is giving licence to misogyny and homophobia.

Finally, Ben Rumsby from The Telegraph wrote about the return of footballer Francesca Needham, a man who identifies as a woman, who played at least three times in a female league this summer after pledging to quit the game earlier this year. Needham had caused a female opponent to suffer a season-ending injury by kicking a shot that went to her knee. Fiona McAnena was quoted as saying that the FA needs to get a grip and that it cannot approach this one case at a time. She said that female players need to be confident that they won’t have to face a male player on the pitch or in the changing room.

20th September

This week’s coverage began with an article by Henry Bodkin for the Sunday Telegraph on Sex Matters’ warning that guidance put out by the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit potentially puts children at risk by encouraging them to use opposite-sex changing rooms. In a letter to minister Janet Daby, Maya Forstater said that remembering what sex children are is crucial to safeguarding children, and that the guidance actively encourages organisations to put children in situations of potential risk and harm, and to undermine record-keeping.

Mridul Wadhwa’s quitting of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) and pressure on Rape Crisis Scotland chief Sandy Brindley to do the same was covered widely by the media. Helen Joyce was quoted by Jennifer Hyland for the Daily Record, Mary Wright and Lizzie Roberts for The Times, and Sam Merriman and Graham Grant for the Daily Mail (print only), saying that Brindley needs to go as she backed Wadhwa long after it was apparent his leadership was disastrous and defended ERCC’s trans-inclusive policy, which was found by the employment tribunal to be unlawful.

Mary also wrote for The Times about the surge in referrals to Scotland’s Sandyford gender clinic before rules were tightened around assessment, with more than 600 adults and 350 children, one aged just seven, seeking treatment in the past year. Helen said that it is heartbreaking that so many Scottish children are being railroaded onto a dangerous treatment pathway for gender distress based on the falsehood that it is possible to change sex, and that no matter what measures the Scottish government takes, high numbers of children will continue to be referred as long as ideological lobby groups like LGBT Youth Scotland have a stranglehold on Scottish schools.

Following last week’s damning report from the Office for Statistics Regulation’s on the Office for National Statistics over its handling of the 2021 Census question on sex and gender, Sex Matters board member Michael Biggs wrote a powerful article for The Spectator on why this is the first time that data from the decennial census – the backbone of British statistics since 1801 – has been downgraded.

This was followed by articles by Hannah Barnes for The New Statesman, who mentioned Michael’s role in highlighting idiosyncrasies early on in a piece outlining why good data matters, and Sanchez Manning for The Telegraph, who interviewed Michael about what led to his scepticism about the data and his detailed investigation.

Next was Katie Harris for the Daily Express on the row at the Liberal Democrat conference last weekend, after the party’s chair Mark Pack claimed that some people would feel “unhappy and unsafe” about the presence of campaign group Liberal Voice for Women. Fiona McAnena said that party groups have been sidelined from conferences for a number of years, and the ludicrous suggestion from Pack that delegates might feel “unsafe” just exacerbates the hostility these women face when participating in the political environment.

Richard Williams for the Shropshire Star wrote about two local women being among the hundreds of constituents who went to Westminster to meet their MPs as part of Sex Matters’ lobby day last week. Laura Williams and Sally Leighton met with MP Stuart Anderson, who listened to their concerns over the erosion of female-only spaces and said he was extremely receptive and understanding.

Finally, Fiona appeared on TalkTV with Alex Phillips to discuss the new artwork on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, which features hundreds of plaster casts of people who identify as transgender and non-binary, as well as “species dysphoria” and safeguarding in schools following reports that a child at a British school identifies as a wolf.

13th September

This week’s coverage began with the news that Valentina Petrillo, a male athlete who identifies as female, failed to qualify for the 200m finals at the Paralympics in Paris. Elgan Alderton for The Times quoted Fiona McAnena as saying that Petrillo’s presence meant a woman lost her dream of getting to the Paralympics, and that World Para Athletics had put male feelings ahead of fairness for female athletes.

Oliver Brown for The Telegraph also covered the story and quoted Fiona as saying that allowing places in women’s sport to be taken by men is not progressive or inclusive.

Also for The Telegraph, George Chesterton wrote a feature a week in which the trans lobby was in retreat. Stonewall announced the ending of its schools training programme; the Good Law Project said it would no longer take on trans-related legal cases; and the SNP health minister made a statement to the Scottish Parliament that it accepts the Cass Review. Maya Forstater was quoted as saying that it feels like the grown-ups are back in the room.

Next, Luke Andrews for Mail Online wrote an article exploring why celebrity children are more likely to identify as transgender. Helen Joyce was quoted as saying that people who have gone down this path with their children become cheerleaders for the trans movement because they have to convince themselves that they’ve made the right choice.

Mary Wright for the Scottish Daily Express covered a letter from former John Lewis employee Lesley Pickup that slammed the retailer’s “trans-inclusive” policies. Fiona was quoted as saying that female staff members and customers have been saying to John Lewis for some time that its so-called “trans-inclusive” policies are causing harm and distress, but that it had failed to listen.

Finally, the Office for Statistics Regulation’s damning report on the 2021 Census question on sex and gender was widely reported in the media. Sex Matters trustee Dr Michael Biggs was quoted by James Melley for BBC News, Sam Merriman for the Daily Mail, Robert Booth for The Guardian, Connor Stringer for The Telegraph, James Beal and Steven Swinford for The Times, and Will Conroy for LBC. Michael said that the admission the question was fundamentally flawed was long overdue, and that it is disgraceful that it took the ONS 18 months to admit this.

6th September

This week’s coverage opened with a story by Oliver Brown for The Telegraph on the signing of a male goalkeeper, Blair Hamilton, to Sutton United’s women’s team, which follows the appointment of Lucy Clark, a man who identifies as a woman, as manager earlier this year. The article quoted Maya Forstater’s comments from 2022, when Hamilton was signed onto the women’s England Universities team, that women will lose out from being on the squad and will also potentially be put under pressure not to speak up about it.

Next was Geraldine Scott and Shayma Bakht’s coverage for The Times on Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick saying that the protection of single-sex spaces is not top of the agenda for 90 percent of people. He pledged to spend the most time on issues such as the cost of living, housing and public services and said that doing so would win back Lib Dem voters. Helen Joyce said that attempting to ignore the harms caused by gender ideology will solve nothing, and indeed will only worsen conflicts over women’s rights and child safeguarding. She also said that Sex Matters polling showed that Tory manifesto pledges on sex and gender were popular with voters across the political spectrum — including the Lib Dem supporters Robert Jenrick says he hopes to attract. The story was also covered by Amy Gibbons for The Telegraph.

Helen appeared on TalkTV with Alex Phillips to discuss the British Medical Association’s investigation into the leaking of news about a vote on the Cass Review.

Elgan Alderman for The Times covered the news that Valentina Petrillo, a male runner who identifies as a woman, reached the semi-finals of the women’s 400 metres at the Paralympics. Fiona McAnena said that Petrillo’s presence means that a woman has lost her dream of getting to the Paralympics and it’s a shame World Para Athletics has put male feelings ahead of fairness for female athletes.

Writing for The Telegraph, Dan Sanderson revealed that an Edinburgh high school is teaching children that people who identify as transgender are “often killed” as part of a worksheet that outlines how protected groups, excluding women, are impacted by crime. Fiona said that the exercise marked a new low in how sex and gender is being taught in Scottish schools, and that whoever drafted this worksheet has ignored the many ways in which women are disproportionately victims of crime. The news was also covered by David Walker for the Scottish Daily Express and Dan Woodland for the Daily Mail.

Finally, Ben Rumbsy for The Telegraph covered the news that the World Darts Federation has threatened female darts players with disciplinary action if they refuse to play male opponents who identify as women. The move follows the withdrawal of British and Danish female players from matches against trans-identifying men in recent months. Fiona said that female darts players are losing twice over by being forced to play or lose their future chances, and that it shouldn’t be left to women to take a stand. The story was also covered in The Sun by Michael Hamilton.

30th August

This week’s coverage began with the news that more than 500 academics have written to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to urge her to implement the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act after her announcement last month that it would be halted. In response to the letter, which had Richard Dawkins and Niall Ferguson were among the signatories, a government source said that it makes “no apology for pausing the Tories’ hate speech charter”. In an article by Martin Beckford for the Daily Mail, Helen Joyce said the government’s statement was astonishing and that the planned law would have protected staff and students with a wide range of lawful beliefs.

Writing on the same topic, Robert Tombs for The Telegraph mentioned the attempts to cancel Helen’s talk at Cambridge University’s Gonville & Caius College in 2022. He referenced the actions of students as well as the Master and Senior Tutor’s efforts to sabotage her appearance, and said that basic legal protection is the indispensable first step to protecting freedom of speech on campuses.

Helen was also quoted in commentary following the conclusion of Tickle v Giggle in the Federal Court of Australia. Jo Bartosch for Spiked and Holly Lawford-Smith for Quillette referenced the judge’s dismissive comments about Helen’s expertise following her submission of evidence to the case.

Sex Matters did two TalkTV interviews on the news that the British Medical Association has launched an investigation to determine which council members may have leaked news of a vote on the Cass Review to the media. Helen was interviewed by Julia Hartley-Brewer and Maya Forstater by David Bull.

Helen was interviewed by Nick Ferrari on LBC regarding the news that the Red Cross has adopted “inclusive” language, with the banning of descriptions such as “born a man or woman” and “biological male or female”.

Mary Wright for the Scottish Daily Express and Scottish Daily Mail broke the news that Scottish Women’s Aid will consider applications from men who identify as women for a woman-only role, on the basis of protections relating to gender reassignment. Maya said that it was inexcusable that Scottish Women’s Aid continued to misinterpret equality laws and put the feelings of men with trans identities before the needs of vulnerable women. She also said that if a job needs to be done by a woman, as is usually the case in the women’s sector, employers can lawfully discriminate by excluding men from consideration for the role. The story was also picked up by Simon Johnson for The Telegraph.

23rd August

In continuing coverage of the boxing scandal, Tom Morgan’s exclusive in The Telegraph on the Taiwanese government’s attempt to silence Fair Play For Women began this week’s news. London-based officials from Taiwan asked the group to delete posts on social media about boxer Lin Yu-ting, claiming that it “wrongly” referred to Lin as biologically male. Sex Matters trustee Dr Emma Hilton said that if Lin is actually female, it would have been very straightforward to successfully challenge the IBA’s decision through the Court of Arbitration for Sport last year, and that we can only speculate about the reason this option was not taken up. The story was also picked up by the Irish Independent.

Also in The Telegraph, Helen Joyce wrote a comment piece on the sexualised insults and death threats faced by pregnant sports presenter Laura Woods after she retweeted an article by The Telegraph’s Oliver Brown on the boxing controversy. Helen said the treatment of Woods is far from unusual, and that women who stand up to bullying by the trans lobby are told that accepting other people’s identities does them no harm, and that they must “be kind”. As she said, being punched in the face by someone whose biology means they’re more than twice as strong as you is pretty obviously harmful.

Fiona McAnena and Emma were quoted in a Daily Mail article by Barbara Davies on Khelif’s mother Nasria’s reaction to the scandal. Fiona said that both Khelif and Lin are believed to have a disorder of sex development (DSD) that means they benefit from male sporting advantage, while Emma said that inclusion must not be offset against safety.

Maya Forstater was mentioned in a Newsweek article by Ryan Smith on Khelif’s filing of a legal complaint in France for alleged cyber harassment. The article speculated that JK Rowling has gone “silent” since the complaint was filed, and mentioned that Rowling’s share of a post by Maya was her last activity on X since 7th August. (She has syarted tweeting again since.)

In other news, Alex Ward for the Daily Mail reported that the BBC referred to “people who have periods” in an article about a new Edinburgh Fringe stand-up show by comedian Bella Humphries, who uses her experience of a period-related health condition as material for her show. Noting that when the BBC talks about prostate or testicular cancer, it refers to “men”, Helen said that the channel’s longstanding double standard when it comes to stories relating to women’s and men’s health is deeply sexist and frustrating. The BBC amended the article to use the word “woman” after being contacted by the Daily Mail.

Michael Searles for the Sunday Telegraph revealed that schools and education services referred 160 children directly to the Tavistock clinic, with more than 30 under the age of ten. Helen said that this is the most extreme example to date of what experts call the “school to clinic pipeline”, and proves that schools have been directly responsible for setting children on a pathway that leads to irreparable physical harm. She also said that once Parliament resumes, the Education Secretary should move swiftly to publish guidance for schools on how to support gender-distressed children while protecting all children’s rights and upholding safeguarding principles.

A follow-up article in The Telegraph by Amy Gibbons reported that nearly two-thirds of teachers who have read the draft schools guidance on how to deal with gender-distressed children think it is more divisive than helpful. Helen said the survey showed how little teachers seem to have absorbed the messages of the Cass Review, and that activist teachers may exploit any wiggle room in the final version or even breach their legal duties by ignoring the guidance entirely. She also said that if gender ideology is to be rooted out of the school system, all head teachers will need strong, unambiguous guidance and a simple, clear model policy based on proper safeguarding of children.

16th August

This week’s coverage began with Helen Joyce’s essay in The Times on the new government’s shelving of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, which would have protected gender critical academics and students, as well as Jewish students. She wrote that the act would also stand up to Chinese influence on what is said on UK campuses.

Fallout from the Olympic boxing scandal continued to dominate the news this week after biologically male boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu Ting won gold in their respective weight categories. Helen Lewis for The Atlantic quoted Sex Matters trustee Dr Emma Hilton’s research on the performance gap between males and females, which argued that the Olympics could have avoided ugly debate by addressing legitimate questions about unfair advantage.

Oliver Brown for The Telegraph said that it was a phone call with Emma which first gave him an inkling as to the significance of what was going to be taking place in the Olympic boxing tournament. He quoted Emma as saying that the IOC is trying to balance fairness, inclusion and safety, but that safety is not about balance and there is a cut off.

Tom Morgan for The Telegraph covered the news that sports presenter Laura Woods received death threats for praising Oliver’s article. Woods said that she had learnt a lot from reading Emma’s work which explains how confusion surrounding DSDs in sport can occur and what it means. Helen was interviewed on the story by Mike Graham on TalkTV.

Also in The Telegraph, Suzanne Moore praised Emma’s work explaining the science behind DSDs in sport in an article which argued that Lord Sebastian Coe could be the saviour of women’s sport if he becomes the next IOC president.

Writing for Reduxx, Bryndis Blackadder referenced Sex Matters’ media briefing on why sex matters in sport in relation to the boxing scandal and DSDs. She quoted Emma as saying that allowing a male into the female boxing ring is the equivalent of letting a heavyweight into the ring with a lightweight, and that a female has to be well over 30 kilograms heavier than a male to match strength levels.

Mike Keegan and Sam Lawley for Mail Online referenced previously reported comments by Maya Forstater and Fiona McAnena in their coverage of Khelif’s gold medal win, as did their colleague Cameron Roy in his coverage of Olympic rower and BBC presenter Matthew Pinsent’s criticism of the IOC’s handling of women’s boxing at the Olympics.

Fiona’s podcast interview with Spiked’s Brendan O’Neill, discussing how this disturbing display of violence against women came about, was written up in an online article, with Fiona arguing that women’s sport is not a consolation prize for men.

Fiona was also interviewed by Julia Hartley-Brewer on TalkTV on the news that a trans-identifying man Valentina Petrillo is set to be the first transgender athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games. Fiona said that there is no world in which anyone thinks it can be fair that when you get too old for male sprinting, you then become a female sprinter.

In other news, Michael Searles at The Telegraph broke the news that NHS radiographers are required to ask men and boys over the age of 12 if they are pregnant, in line with guidance from the Society of Radiographers. Fiona said this is among the worst examples of professional bodies losing their senses, and that putting healthcare staff and male patients through such a humiliating farce is both inappropriate and a waste of time. The story was also picked up by Charlotte Wace for The Times and Xantha Leatham for the Daily Mail (print only), whose story was picked up by several Australian newspapers including The West Australian, Perth Now, Sound Telegraph, Great Southern Herald and Bunbury Herald. Fiona was also interviewed on the story by Mike Graham from TalkTV.

Olivia Peden for the Belfast Telegraph interviewed Helen on the news that the UK government extended the ban on puberty blockers in July for the newspaper’s podcast.

Finally, Simon Johnson for The Telegraph covered the news that Scotland’s Sandyford gender clinic will still treat more than 1000 children and young people, despite banning self-referrals. Fiona said that ensuring referrals can only be made by suitably qualified clinicians will help protect vulnerable people, especially children and young people, from activists.

9th August

The Olympic boxing controversy continued to dominate much of this week’s coverage.

Fiona McAnena was quoted by Sports Pro Media and Jamie Gordon for The Sun as saying that it’s grossly unfair that at the pinnacle of her sporting career, Italian boxer Angela Carini had to concede for her own safety.

Tom Morgan for The Telegraph quoted Fiona as saying that the IOC could have prevented this scandal by acting on the evidence in front of them. She also said that the IOC is responsible for two athletes being thrust into the global spotlight unnecessarily, and for the grief, physical pain and missed opportunities suffered by female boxers at these Olympics.

Oliver Brown also quoted Fiona in a profile of Daley Thompson, saying that it is enormously valuable to have his advocacy for the protection of women’s sports. She also said that people often ignore non-athletic, middle-aged women speaking about this topic but Thompson is listened to because he is both male and a hero.

Writing for The Australian, Jacquelin Magnay quoted Fiona as saying that the Olympic boxing scandal has broken through into the mainstream and many non-sports fans are now concerned.

Fiona did several interviews on the controversy, including LBC with Matthew Wright, Free Speech Nation on GB News with Andrew Doyle, TalkTV with Kevin O’Sullivan and GB News again on Monday at 3.30pm.

Sex Matters trustee and developmental biologist Dr Emma Hilton’s research that a male boxer’s punch is 160% more powerful than a woman’s was quoted by Gustavo Muñana for Inside the Games.

Emma was also quoted by Will Pugh for The Sun, saying that athletes with “typically male” XY chromosomes, like Khelif, should be barred from competing against those without.

In a feature by Sofia Bettiza for BBC News on the science behind the boxing controversy, Emma was quoted as saying that the gene called SRY, which stands for “sex-determining region of the Y chromosome” – also known as the make-male gene – is the master switch of sex development.

Emma and Sally Parkin were quoted by Sam Greenhill for the Daily Mail (print only), with Emma saying that it’s not just unfair but dangerous for someone with male biology to punch a female boxer. Sally said that sex is a material reality and is not changed by what is written on a piece of paper.

Emma appeared on GB News with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster to discuss the story.

Maya Forstater’s reaction on X to one of the boxing matches in question was mentioned by Iwan Stone and Shekar Bhatia for Mail Online.

Sex Matters’ briefing on disorders of sex development (DSDs) in sport was cited in the print version of an article by Matt Lawton, Martyn Ziegler and David Brown for The Times, as saying that sporting bodies worldwide need to act now to protect fairness and safety for women.

It was also mentioned by Susan Dalgety in a column for The Scotsman, clarifying that the DSD 5-ARD is the condition that South African athlete Caster Semenya has, and which led to the Court for Arbitration in Sport ruling that 5-ARD athletes can be barred from women’s competitions.

In an attempt to address a lot of the misinformation circulating amidst the controversy, Sex Matters hosted a media briefing on Thursday that was widely attended by international journalists, producers and broadcast presenters. Fiona chaired the session and Emma, Sharron Davies MBE and Mara Yamauchi spoke and answered questions. Sharron’s comments at the briefing led to stories by Tom Morgan for The Telegraph and Daniel Boffey for The Guardian.

In other news, writing for the Scottish Daily Mail and the Edinburgh Reporter, Mary Wright reported that National Galleries of Scotland continues to display a photograph of former SNP equalities officer Cameron Downing, who was recently jailed on charges of sexual assault and violence. Fiona was quoted as saying that simply putting up a trigger warning is insulting to his victims, and all victims of sexual violence.

Naomi Cunningham was quoted widely on the news that the NHS will conduct clinical trials on puberty blockers as part of its plan to overhaul services for children. She told Shaun Wooller and Alex Ward at the Daily Mail that while well-meaning, these trials pose the very real risk of the NHS sacrificing the otherwise good health of vulnerable children and causing them grave physical harm in the name of research.

Denis Campbell for The Guardian, Sam Blanchard for The Sun, James Rodger for the Birmingham Mail and Matthew Lodge for Mail Online quoted Naomi as saying that Sex Matters understands why the NHS and Dr Hilary Cass believe that clinical trials of puberty blockers are necessary, but we would urge them to reconsider. She also said that such trials are ethically unjustifiable, given the known risks of permanent damage to fertility, sexual functioning and general health. BBC Radio 4 reported Naomi’s comments on the 6pm news.

Fiona appeared with Alex Phillips on TalkTV and Nana Akua on GB News to discuss the inclusion of services for detransitioners as part of the new NHS plan.

Finally, Alex for the Daily Mail covered the news that Dr Hilary Cass sent a letter to senior NHS England figures warning them about concerns relating to adult gender clinics. The letter relayed the concerns of medical professionals who had worked at the clinics, with fears about rushed consultation processes, patients being put on hormones on their second visit, and a philosophy that it was up to patients to make their own mistakes. Maya was quoted as saying that adults who believe they can change sex often have complex mental-health histories and are in the grip of “magical thinking”.

2nd August

This week’s coverage began with Alex Ward for the Daily Mail (print only) on the news that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson plans to drop legislation to protect free speech on university campuses that was due to be implemented imminently. Helen Joyce was quoted as saying that this was a serious misstep. In a follow-up article by Alex, Helen shared her own experience of being harassed by students and said that the move will have a chilling effect not just on academics, but on students and speakers whose views aren’t popular on campus.

This was followed by the news that the High Court has upheld the government’s ban on puberty blockers for gender-distressed children following a legal challenge from Jolyon Maugham’s Good Law Project. Alex covered the news for the Daily Mail, as did Jonathan Ames for The Times. Both quoted Maya Forstater as saying that the legal challenge had been brought by activists and was not in the best interests of children, and that the Cass Review had debunked the falsehood that puberty blockers are life-saving. Fiona McAnena appeared on Julia Hartley-Brewer’s show on TalkTV to discuss the story.

Next was reporting on the British Medical Association council’s vote in favour of a motion for prompt access to so-called “gender medicine” for under-18s and a vow to lobby ministers and NHS leaders to oppose implementing the Cass Review’s recommendations. Eleanor Hayward for The Times, Laura Donnelly and Daniel Martin for The Telegraph, Shaun Wooller and Alex for the Daily Mail, and James Saunders for GB News all quoted Helen as saying that the move was scarcely believable and that the Cass Review is most authoritative synthesis of the evidence concerning the treatment of gender-distressed children and young people.

In commentary, Ella Whelan cited Sex Matters in a piece for Spiked that analysed pressure on Team GB athletes to be champions of social justice. She mentioned that only certain causes are “acceptable” and questioned what would happen if a female athlete decided she wanted to campaign for a group such as Sex Matters or LGB Alliance.

Helen wrote a powerful column for The Critic on the glorification of self-mutilation in popular culture in the form of mastectomies. She said that asserting mastery over their future selves is a feature rather than a bug of mastectomy, and that while anorexia has been widely understood as self-harm, mastectomy is being sold as liberation.

Helen’s book was referenced in a review of new books by Helen Pluckrose and Eric Kaufmann by Gavin McCormick for The Critic, as part of a wave of recent books tackling culture-war topics.

Dominating global headlines for the rest of the week was the news that Italian boxer Angela Carini was forced to abandon her fight against Algerian Imane Khelif in the women’s boxing event at the Paris Olympics. Khelif had previously been excluded from women’s boxing after failing a sex test. Jamie Gardner for PA Media quoted Fiona as saying that the incident should be enough to end the absurd and dangerous spectacle of males in women’s sport once and for all. Fiona explained that testosterone levels in healthy men and women don’t overlap, and said that most elite female athletes want a return to sex testing as a condition of eligibility to protect the integrity of women’s sport. The PA story was picked up by ITV and The Newsletter, and included in stories by Mark Atkinson for The Scotsman, Mairin de Barra for Gript, and Aidan Radnedge and Arthur Parashar for Mail Online.

Sex Matters did several interviews on the topic. Fiona was interviewed on GB News by Tom Harwood and LBC by Shelagh Fogarty. Helen was interviewed on GB News by Ben Leo and Alex Phillips on TalkTV.

26th July

This week’s news began with coverage by Eleanor Hayward for The Times and Jack Maidment and Tim Sigsworth for The Telegraph of the watershed report by government suicide advisor Professor Louis Appleby, which found there was no evidence to support activist claims of a “surge” in suicides among gender-distressed children. Maya Forstater said the report tackles the darkest and most extreme narratives used to embed gender-identity ideology, and that we are relieved the government is standing up to the most vile bullies in the transactivist movement with truth and common sense.

Michael Searles for The Telegraph revealed that NHS equality training tells staff that using the wrong pronouns for trans-identifying people raises the risk of suicide. Maya said this was grossly irresponsible and that the suggestion that not affirming gender identities increases suicides not only goes against available evidence, but also completely contradicts the Cass Review’s recommendations.

Next, Fiona McAnena was quoted in stories by Amy Gibbons for The Telegraph, Martyn Brown for the Daily Express, and Greg Heffer for Mail Online on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s comments on men in women’s sports. Nandy said that biology matters but that it should be up to individual sports to decide their own policies, arguing that “most” sports had got the balance right. Fiona said that policies are all over the place from sport to sport, meaning that women and girls face unfairness, the risk of injury and exclusion at all levels. Fiona was interviewed on the topic by Jeremy Kyle on Talk TV and Ben Leo and Miriam Cates on GB News, and Helen Joyce was interviewed by Kevin O’Sullivan on Talk TV.

Finally, Maya’s case was mentioned by Jo Faragher in Personnel Today in coverage of the news that barrister Allison Bailey lost her appeal against Stonewall after she claimed the charity tried to silence her for her gender-critical views.

19th July

This week began with further coverage of Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s commitment to make the previous government’s emergency ban on puberty blockers permanent. Helen Joyce was quoted in articles by Geraldine Scott and Jonathan Ames for The Times and Steph Spyro for The Express saying that the move is an excellent sign that Labour intends to take an evidence-based approach and will prioritise child safeguarding, but urged him to rein in the private sale of cross-sex hormones. Helen was interviewed by TalkTV’s Jeremy Kyle on the move and described how gender clinics have been prescribing off-label puberty blockers to children.

Helen was also quoted in an article by Marion Scott for the Sunday Post which revealed that LGBT Youth Scotland met with the Scottish government’s cabinet secretary for education, Jenny Gilruth, earlier in the year to raise concerns about school staff being reluctant to engage with its beliefs relating to gender identity. Helen said that any group that takes an approach incompatible with the findings of the Cass Review should not be anywhere near children.

Next was an exposé by Adele Waters for the Daily Mail which revealed that there are 33 rapes and assaults in NHS hospitals every week. The article referenced Sex Matters’ position that single-sex wards and spaces are key to protecting the safety of female patients.

Martin Beckford for the Daily Mail, Daniel Martin for The Telegraph, Jonathan Ames for The Times and Rob Moss for Personnel Today quoted Maya Forstater in coverage of new guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which states that men who self-identify as women should not be considered for female-only roles, unless they possess a gender-recognition certificate. Maya was quoted as saying that the move to clarify that self-ID is not the law was long overdue, but that it is never appropriate for a man to try to access female-only roles or services, even if he has a piece of paper which claims he is a woman. Helen was interviewed by Ian Collins for TalkTV on the new guidance, and said that if a man isn’t suitable to do a job, the government can’t give him a piece of paper that will make him suitable.

In the lead-up to the King’s speech, several articles ran preview stories in anticipation of a ban on so-called “trans-inclusive conversion therapy” being included in the new government’s agenda. Amy Gibbons for The Telegraph referenced Sex Matters’ call for the Prime Minister to resist calls for speedy action on the matter and warning that any legal changes must be approached with utmost caution. Amy mentioned Sex Matters in an overview of what to expect in the King’s Speech, as did Rhianna Benson writing for Tyla.

Sam Lister for the Daily Express quoted Maya as saying that the people who will be harmed by the proposed law are distressed kids. Maya also had an op-ed in the Daily Express, which said that “conversion therapy” is thankfully a thing of the past and that the evidence isn’t there to justify a ban.

Following the King’s speech, Maya was quoted in an article by Martin Beckford for the Daily Mail on concerns that a ban on so-called “conversion therapy” risks criminalising parents, teachers and doctors. Maya said that the measures could be a Trojan horse that harms the very children it is meant to protect.

Maya had a full-page opinion piece in the Daily Mail which said that it will take courage for Wes Streeting to stand up to bullying and death threats from transactivists for taking an evidence-based approach to the banning of puberty blockers. She referenced Jolyon Maugham, who has made outrageous claims about the threat of child suicide and said that NHS managers have sought to surpress related evidence. Justin Webb referenced Maya’s article in the paper review on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Sex Matters was featured in an article by Lynne Walsh for the Morning Star on how campaigners for sex-based rights see their priorities under a new government. Lynne reported on Maya and Helen’s remarks at an event organised by the group Outspoken Women at Swansea University earlier this month. Maya said that the Equality Act is a priority, as this puts the focus on women’s rights. Helen made the point that during the election campaign, politicians who were asked about women’s rights often responded by talking about “trans rights”.

Finally, Shaun Wooller for the Daily Mail reported on the British Medical Association’s failure to publicly back the Cass Review and its lack of transparency regarding a reported council vote this week on whether or not to back Dr Cass’s findings. Fiona McAnena said the situation was a shocking sign of the times and shows that even respectable medical organisations can fall prey to an activist agenda that is not in patients’ best interests.

12th July

This week’s coverage began with an article by Sam Lister in The Express setting out a “10 point common sense plan” the paper thinks the new Labour government should adopt, quoting Maya Forstater as saying: “Keir Starmer promised to protect single-sex services: now he needs to deliver.”

The following day Lister wrote for The Express about JK Rowling’s criticism of the appointment of Anneliese Dodds as Minister for Women and Equalities. The story was also covered by Daniel Martin for The Telegraph. Both quoted Maya, who pointed out that the prominence of sex-based rights during the election campaign showed that “most people think genuinely single-sex spaces are essential, and that the government should move swiftly to fix the legal muddle that means service-providers are frightened to provide them”.

On Wednesday SWLondoner ran an article by Mizy Judah Clifton giving a transactivist take on what to expect from the new Labour government. It quoted Steph Richards, a trans-identifying man who writes for the TransLucent website, as saying: “[Labour is] not going to be perfect. [But] groups like Sex Matters will lose a lot of their venom, for a time. They’ll still have influence, but less than they had with the Tories.”

Our main coverage for the week came in response to our first letter to Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, in which we and other groups called on the new government to exercise extreme caution concerning so-called “conversion therapy”. Amy Gibbons and Daniel Martin in The Telegraph, Katie Harris in the Daily Express (print-only) and Amy Gibbons in a follow-up article for The Telegraph, all covered the letter.

Helen Joyce was quoted as saying that “It is vital that the new government takes the time to think through the knock-on impacts of any legislation in this complex and sensitive area. If it rushes, it risks catastrophic harm to the vulnerable children and young people it is seeking to protect.” Maya was quoted urging the government to move responsibility for conversion therapy from the equalities minister to Wes Streeting, the new Health Secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary. “I think that the danger is, if they take a woke approach rather than a science approach, that the legislation will harm children and vulnerable people that it’s aiming to protect,” she said.

The week finished with Michael Searles reporting for The Telegraph that Streeting is expected to extend and make permanent the emergency ban on new prescriptions of puberty blockers put in place by his predecessor, Victoria Atkins. Helen was quoted as saying that this was “an excellent sign that Labour intends to take an evidence-based approach to child gender medicine, and to prioritise child safeguarding”.

5th July

This week’s coverage began with articles by Jeremy Watson in The Times and Justin Bowie for The Courier on the news that a female NHS Fife staff member is taking legal action against her employer. The woman was suspended for complaining about NHS Fife being in breach of the Equality Act for allowing a man who identifies as a woman to use female changing facilities. The case is being supported by Alba candidate Neale Hanvey, who referred the woman to Sex Matters.

The news was also covered by Kate Foster for the Daily Mail, who quoted Fiona McAnena as saying that the situation showed that gender ideology has been allowed to trump all other considerations, and that it looks like a Scottish government body prioritising the feelings of men over the safety and wellbeing of female staff members. Fiona’s comment was also reported by Jack Walters for GB News.

Next, Chris Hastings for the Daily Mail reported on a cast member of the West End production of the Disney musical Frozen appearing on stage with a placard that read “Protect trans youth with your vote”. Helen Joyce said that it is inappropriate to proselytise about trans identities to little girls, since teenage girls are most likely to get caught up in the trans social contagion. She also said that the move played on children’s naivety and vulnerability, and is the opposite of child safeguarding.

Helen wrote a powerful essay for The Critic on the weaponisation of language by gender ideologues; specifically the use of irregular verbs and euphemisms, and the manipulation of word definitions.

Sex Matters’ biggest news story for the week was the publication of our general-election survey, which found that those who voted for Labour in the 2019 general election are more aligned with the Conservative Party’s position on sex and gender. 48% of Labour voters support the proposal to clarify sex in the Equality Act, and 40% oppose plans to make it easier to change the sex on birth certificates. The Telegraph, Martin Beckford for the Daily Mail, Katie Harris for the Daily Express and Jack Elsom for The Sun quoted Maya Forstater as saying that politicians should take serious note of the overwhelming support for sex-based rights across the political spectrum.

Writing for the Daily Mail, Harriet Line wrote about the Liberal Democrats’ pledge to make the gender-recognition process “easier” and to recognise non-binary identities in law. Helen was quoted as saying that these measures would drive a coach and horses through protections for women, and that granting legal recognition to ‘non-binary’ identities is about as sensible as granting legal status to star signs.

Meanwhile, Steerpike’s column in The Spectator told the story of a woman going by the name of “Amelia Sparrow” who is taking legal action against the Liberal Democrats for discrimination, harassment and victimisation after three days of working for one of the party’s MPs. Sparrow told the columnist that she noticed there were no Lib Dem MPs at a Sex Matters event earlier this year.

Rounding off pre-election coverage, Daniel Martin for The Telegraph reported Keir Starmer’s confirmation that the Labour Party would not amend the Equality Act to clarify the definition of woman. Maya said that the next government must grapple with the serious lack of clarity about the law on single-sex services, which is undermining the rights and safety of women and girls in practice, and that if the Labour Party will not do this by amending the Equality Act, it will fall to the EHRC to issue usable statutory guidance.

Finally, in her capacity as an expert on women in sport, Fiona was interviewed by Martin Daubney on GB News on a new campaign to promote sport to teenage girls which saw Team GB rugby players dressed in lingerie for a photoshoot. Fiona said the campaign was regressive and sexualised female athletes.