Freedom of speech
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Helen Joyce on sex, gender identity and human rights
Helen Joyce is Director of Advocacy at Sex Matters.
These are edited versions of Helen’s talks at the conferences held in 2023 in Killarney and 2024 in Lisbon by Genspect, an international organisation advocating for non-medical approaches to gender distress. -
Answering questions about data protection
As part of our ongoing work on defending the female category in sport, we recently asked people to get in touch and tell us how male inclusion in women’s sport has affected them. We want to be able to demonstrate the extent of the problem across teams, leagues and...
4th November 2024
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Flying Flags and Ticking Boxes – what went wrong with EDI and how leaders can fix it
By Simon Fanshawe OBE and Matilda Gosling, Diversity by Design
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Being clear about our beliefs
Sex Matters was founded as an organisation based on human rights. We believe that the rule of law, and the underpinning human rights, are crucial to protect people against unjust and capricious treatment by the state. We also believe that ideas and behaviours promoted in the name of gender...
29th May 2024
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The Jo Phoenix case should be a wake-up call for universities
In 2019 Professor Jo Phoenix became the target of a campaign of harassment from her colleagues at the Open University (OU) after she raised concerns about the silencing of gender-critical voices in academia. This ramped up in 2021 after she co-founded an academic research network for the rigorous exploration...
16th May 2024
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Learning from the Jo Phoenix case
What universities and their regulators need to know and do
What happened at the Open University was not an isolated problem, and it was not just about Phoenix. This briefing tells the story of the case based on the findings of the employment tribunal, and sets out lessons for the university... -
Academic mobbing – what university management needs to know
Ian Pace, Professor of Music, Culture and Society at City, University of London, writes for Sex Matters on the phenomenon of workplace mobbing, drawing on studies of dissent under totalitarian regimes and the phenomenon of groupthink. He explores why mobbing seems to be on the rise in universities, with...
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Legal opinion says promotion policy discriminates on basis of gender-critical beliefs
Earlier this year Sex Matters was approached by Dr John Armstrong, a reader in mathematics at King’s College London (KCL). Dr Armstrong was applying for promotion, but was concerned that the “EDI” (equality, diversity and inclusion) section of the application, which required applicants to demonstrate their commitment to ideas...
20th April 2024
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Counsel’s opinion in the matter of King’s College London academic promotions criteria
KCL’s promotion policy discriminates on the basis of gender-critical beliefs, and will also be likely to contravene the new law on academic freedom due to come into force in August 2024.
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A Woman’s Guide to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021
A brief guide to what the Act says, and other relevant legal references, explaining when you are entitled to free legal advice, and ways to find it.
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“Misgendering” and the Scottish Hate Crime Act
On 1st April, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act came into force. The law has generated headlines across the world, mainly due to concerns about its potential impact on freedom of speech; in particular, gender-critical speech. One of the most controversial aspects is the extension of so-called...
5th April 2024
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Why does the BBC keep getting sex and gender wrong?
In November 2023, BBC Woman’s Hour interviewed Steph Richards – a man who has publicly documented his harassment of women in the name of trans-rights activism – because he had been appointed as CEO of a micro-charity, Endometriosis South Coast. This is part of a pattern where the BBC gets...
23rd March 2024
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“Be nice!” says the BBC’s director-general
The director-general of the BBC, Tim Davie, appeared at the parliamentary select committee for culture, media and sport this week. He was asked by Damian Green MP about the complaint upheld against Justin Webb for clarifying that transwomen “are, in other words, male”. Webb was reprimanded by the BBC’s...
22nd March 2024
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Inclusion at Work Panel: report on improving workplace diversity and inclusion
A report from the independent Inclusion at Work Panel setting out how organisations can improve diversity and inclusion practices through evidence.
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Letter to GANHRI, January 2024
We wrote to GANHRI, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Special Rapporteurs on violence against women and girls and on freedom of religion or belief, together with 38 civil society organisations and groups, to raise our concern that GANHRI’s “special review” process has been...
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Threats, reprisals and intimidation against the EHRC and those who stand up for sex-based rights in Britain
We prepared this detailed submission to accompany our letter to GANHRI (the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions) which was sent with 38 organisations and groups.
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GANHRI should stand up for the EHRC, not join in the abuse
Together with 38 groups defending sex-based rights, Sex Matters has written to GANHRI calling on it to stand up for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), as reported in The Telegraph today. Britain’s human-rights regulator is facing a campaign of reprisals for acting to protect those with gender-critical...
5th February 2024
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Sex Matters’ draft response to the Department for Education consultation on guidance for schools on gender-questioning children
Draft version for feedback – read the DfE draft guidance for consultation.
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The escalating campaign of intimidation and violence against gender-critical women
After nearly 15,000 people signed our letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Joanna Cherry KC MP asked Laura Farris, Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, if she would condemn the escalating campaign of violence and intimidation against women in the name of “trans rights”. The minister responded that she had read our letter...
24th November 2023
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“Please, please make it stop.”
On 9th November we delivered a letter to the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, calling on him to act to defend gender-critical women from threats, violence and police harassment. The letter was signed by nearly 15,000 people. More than 3,000 of them also added a personal comment to the letter, and...
15th November 2023
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Sex Matters delivers letter to Prime Minister
The Sex Matters team were joined by women’s rights activists to deliver the #DefendUs letter to 10 Downing Street today. The letter, signed by almost 15,000 people, asks the Prime Minister to take urgent action to halt the escalating campaign of violence and intimidation against women in the name...
9th November 2023
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Sex Matters welcomes review of police politicisation
The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman KC MP, has written to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Andy Cooke, to raise concerns about police involvement in politically contested matters including “gender identity”, critical race theory and climate activism. She has ordered a review of how much political involvement by the police “may...
2nd September 2023
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Gender-critical website blocked on train wi-fi network
Kieran Gair for The Times
The Sex Matters site has been flagged up for ‘being linked to terrorism and hate’. Helen Joyce of Sex Matters is quoted. -
Employee holding gender critical beliefs suffered harassment and employer failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it
An analysis of Fahmy v Arts Council England by BDBF Solicitors – an employment law firm in the City of London specialising in high stakes and high value cases.
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Reality vs. Trans Ideology | Helen Joyce & Peter Boghossian
Peter and Helen discuss the definition of sex, why trans men should be allowed in women’s spaces, the tragedy of the commons, fa’afafine, evolution, the “thought-terminating cliché,” the tribal fear of rejection, the cultivation of mental illness, why institutions are losing their North Stars, and much more.
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Hero shot down by cancel culture: Soldier who saved countless lives in Afghanistan and trained medics for Ukraine is forced to quit the Army for agreeing that men can’t be women
Chris Pollard for the Mail on Sunday.
Col Dr Kelvin Wright shared a Facebook post which prompted an angry backlash.
He has been forced to walk away after more than 14 years in the military. -
“Vague complaints about transphobia when they won’t tell you what that is.”
Richard Tice interviews Maya Forstater for Talk TV
A woman who lost her job for saying biological sex cannot be changed has been awarded £106,000 after an employment tribunal found she experienced discrimination and victimisation at work.
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Maya Forstater: gender-critical campaigner wins £100,000
James Beal, Social Affairs Editor for The Times
The gender-critical campaigner Maya Forstater has said that her £100,000 compensation award is a warning to organisations about their attitude to sex-based rights. -
Woman who lost job after tweeting view on biological sex awarded £100,000
Miranda Bryant for The Guardian
Award follows tribunal ruling that Maya Forstater was unfairly discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs -
Maya Forstater: Woman who lost her job over transgender views awarded £100k compensation
Sky News.
In 2021, Maya Forstater told Sky News that "girls grew up to be women, boys grew up to be men" - but some see her views as deeply transphobic. Now, she has been awarded compensation after losing her job in 2019. -
Maya Forstater: Woman gets payout for discrimination over trans tweets
A woman who lost out on a job after tweeting gender-critical views is to get a £100,000 payout after a decision from an employment tribunal.
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US Supreme Court deals setback to LGBT rights in web designer case
Andrew Chung for Reuters.
The US Supreme Court has ruled that the constitutional right to free speech allows certain businesses to refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings, ruling in favour of a web designer who cited her Christian beliefs in challenging a Colorado anti-discrimination law.