Freedom of speech • Page 2
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Statement on the People’s History Museum
Sex Matters is a human-rights organisation that campaigns for clarity on sex in law and policy. We were founded because of the widespread, shameless, unlawful discrimination faced by people who hold and express “gender critical” beliefs. On 25th June we held a board meeting in Manchester in the Coal...
30th June 2023
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Maya Forstater wins more than £100,000 in compensation from think-tank after she lost her job for believing that people cannot change their biological sex
Daisy Graham-Brown for Mail Online
Researcher's contract not renewed after voicing 'gender critical' beliefs in 2018.
Yesterday tribunal ordered she should be paid £106,404 by her former employer. -
People’s History Museum issue apology after ‘gender critical’ group host boardroom meeting
Adam Maidment for the Manchester Evening News
The museum, located on Left Bank in Spinningfields, was the subject of a ‘hostile environment on social media’ after members of the Sex Matters group held a board meeting at the premises.
See also Sex Matters’ statement. -
Denise Fahmy v Arts Council England (case number 6000042/2022)
Press release from Didlaw, whose partner Elizabeth McGlone worked alongside Anya Palmer Counsel of Old Square Chambers to support Denise Fahmy in her harassment claim against Arts Council England (ACE).
Read the judgment. -
Let the UN Special Rapporteur on VAWG deliver her mandate
Nearly 800 representatives of women’s-rights and human-rights organisations have sent a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council in support of Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls. It urges the United Nations to give Alsalem the protection and the facilities she needs...
23rd June 2023
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The Ideological Subversion of Biology
Jerry A. Coyne and Luana S. Maroja for the Skeptical Inquirer.
Biology is not dead, but ideology is poisoning it. The science that has brought us so much progress and understanding is endangered by political dogma strangling our essential tradition of open research and scientific communication. -
How Auntie excludes – why can the BBC interview Andrew Tate but not gender-critical feminists?
Cath Walton for The Critic
Walton asks why gender-critical feminists, and Sex Matters’ Helen Joyce in particular, are effectively blacklisted by the BBC, while morally dubious men are given a platform. -
Charity watchdog could investigate Oxfam over trans row cartoon
James Beal, Social Affairs Editor for The TImes
Maya Forstater of Sex Matters is quoted from her interview on Times Radio. -
Teacher who ‘misgendered’ pupil banned from profession
Louisa Clarence-Smith for The Telegraph
Joshua Sutcliffe, a Christian who also spoke out against gay marriage, says he is 'devastated' by ruling finding him guilty of misconduct. -
Should a civil-service union promote harassment and discrimination?
At its annual conference starting on Tuesday 23rd May, PCS – Public and Commercial Services Union, the largest civil-service union – is planning to debate motions that denigrate gender-critical civil servants and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The motions seek to commit the union to a political stance...
19th May 2023
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We call on GANHRI to protect civic space
On 3rd May 2023 Stonewall and a group of organisations wrote to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) accusing Britain’s equalities watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, of being a “failed institution” which is “actively harming trans people”. This is the third time Stonewall has...
16th May 2023
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Response to Victor Madrigal-Borloz’s report on the UK
The UN Independent Expert Victor Madrigal-Borloz has issued an extraordinary report at the end of his ten-day mission to the UK. The thrust of it is the familiar claim that speaking clearly about the material reality of the two sexes amounts to “hate”, alongside the equally familiar dismissal of...
12th May 2023
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Letter to the College of Policing
Our detailed comments in response to to the consultation on the Authorised Professional Practice Recording and retention of non-crime hate incidents (APP) – the consultation draft is concerning.
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Thank you, Kishwer Falkner
We have written to Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission: Dear Kishwer Falkner Thank you for publishing your letter to the Minister for Women and Equalities setting out, with careful reasoning, why you support revisiting and clarifying the meaning of “sex” as a protected...
11th April 2023
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EDI contra science – the misuse of “ethics” in academic research
John Armstrong writes for The Crtitic about how he was asked to survey elite athletes on their views on trans participation in athletics, but the ethics committee at King’s College, London rejected his research proposal on the grounds that the terms “male” and “female” were unacceptable.
1st April 2023
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Let Women Speak in New Zealand
“The only way to describe the trans activist mob at Auckland today is feral. Kellie-Jay Keen had to get escorted out of the rally after only being there a brief time due to fears for her safety, and the rally was abandoned.” Katrina Biggs, Auckland We were shocked by...
26th March 2023
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IPSO’s updated guidance – our response
IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, has published draft Guidance on reporting of sex and gender identity to replace its 2016 publication, Guidance on researching and reporting stories involving transgender individuals. Sex Matters has written a response to the consultation and hopes that the final guidance will be improved...
2nd March 2023
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Response to IPSO consultation on guidance on reporting of sex and gender identity
In 2016 IPSO published Guidance on researching and reporting stories involving transgender individuals, with input only from trans lobby groups. In February 2023 it released a draft replacement for public consultation: Guidance on reporting of sex and gender identity. This is our response.
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Maths teacher accused of misgendering pupil on religious grounds
Jessica Murray, Midlands correspondent for The Guardian
Maya Forstater gave evidence in support of Joshua Sutcliffe, the teacher, and is quoted here. -
Standing For Women
Grassroots membership campaign that started in 2018 with the production of posters and T-shirts bearing the message “Woman: Adult Human Female”. Focuses on public and direct actions, such as meetings at Speakers Corner, and rallies to raise awareness of the ongoing threats to women’s rights. Spokesperson is Kellie-Jay Keen...
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Freedom of belief matters
Sex Matters has submitted input to Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the United Nations’ Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. He is compiling a report for the UN Human Rights Council on the right to freedom of religion or belief in relation to...
18th January 2023
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Statement on the UK government’s decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill
We are very pleased that the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Scotland have decided to use their constitutional powers to stop the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from going to royal assent. As we wrote in our briefing on the Bill and its implications for the...
16th January 2023
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Alumni for free speech
Non-partisan, non-party political campaign for UK graduates, set up in 2022 to be co-ordinators and spokespeople for alumni; organise alumni to act to secure free speech and tackle specific incidents; and encourage, support and coordinate campaigns established by alumni of particular institutions.
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Clarify the Equality Act: sign the petition
The Equality Act 2010 protects everyone’s rights and covers everything from schools to hospitals, pubs to sports, and everybody’s workplace. It includes protection against sex-discrimination, and allows single-sex services. But on 13th December a judge in Scotland pronounced that Equality Act does not recognise biological sex as a protected...
16th December 2022
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Hadley Freeman interviewed on Woman’s Hour
On 5th December 2022, Hadley Freeman was interviewed by Emma Burnett on BBC Woman’s Hour. She talked about why she was leaving the Guardian, after 22 years of working for the paper. The audio with subtitles available on Youtube. We have added links to relevant media articles, and to...
7th December 2022
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Mass harassment in HM Prisons and Probation Service
As reported in The Telegraph today, HM Prisons and Probation Service’s Pride in Prison and Probation (PiPP) staff network has circulated documents for Trans Awareness Week telling MoJ staff to recognise a series of words and phrases as “transphobic dogwhistles”. The PiPP is an official staff network, with a...
20th November 2022
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Helen Joyce speaks at Caius College
On 25th October 2022, Sex Matters’ Director of Advocacy Helen Joyce spoke at an event at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, entitled “Criticising gender-identity ideology: what happens when speech is silenced”. This page documents the events surrounding the talk. Criticising gender-identity ideology: what happens when speech is silenced...
15th November 2022
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Lib Dems revise “transphobia” definition
The Liberal Democrats have revised their definition of transphobia in the light of recent legal cases. The previous policy which drew on the work of “organisations such as Stonewall and TransActual UK”. But following advice from two KCs (one, from Karon Monaghan KC, has been published), it has now...
14th November 2022
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Trans rights are human rights!
Sex Matters is a human-rights organisation. We believe that universal human rights form a powerful framework for thinking about how a diversity of freedoms can be respected, while protecting against harm and maintaining an open and prosperous society. It is sometimes argued that those who call for clarity on...
9th November 2022
