Today is Human Rights Day and as a contribution to raising the issue as we head towrds the General Election it is necessary to remind people that all our rights depend on Free Speech.
There can be no Human Rights without Free Speech!
And yet everywhere there is a growing tendency towards censorship which began in of all places out universities which should be the centre of of developing and discussing ideas both past and present for the future. These are after all our centres of learning.
The Times reported
Academics accused a leading gay rights charity of suppressing academic freedom by encouraging a “censorious” approach to gender identity.
In a letter to The Times more than 20 professors, researchers and lecturers say that many British universities have adopted policies on transgender issues from a template drawn up by Stonewall that does not allow criticism from academics who take a different view.
The stance goes well beyond legal requirements of equality law but academics who question Stonewall’s position risk harassment and complaints from students or colleagues, they say.
Signatories of the letter co-ordinated by Kathleen Stock, a professor of philosophy at Sussex University, include Simon Fanshawe, former chairman of Sussex University council and one of the founders of LGB Alliance, which in October broke away from Stonewall over its approach to transgender issues.
The letter was written in support of Rachel Ara, an artist who is crowdfunding a legal case against Oxford Brookes University for its last-minute cancellation of tutorials and a lecture she was due to give last month. The artist, who is gay and draws a distinction between biological sex and gender identity, said the university’s LGBTQ+ society wrote to the vice-chancellor criticising her invitation. The university said at the time that correct procedures had not been followed.
The LGB Alliance have written a letter to the Vice Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University in support of artist Rachel Ara:
Dear Vice Chancellor
Misrepresentation of LGB Alliance and banning Rachel Ara
Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are the founders of the new LGB Alliance.
It is concerning that the LGBTQ+ society at Oxford Brookes is reported to have described our organisation as being “openly transphobic” and “seeking to isolate trans people within the LGBTQ+ movement”.
As a result of her apparent support for the LGB Alliance, an event featuring artist Rachel Ara to be held on 19th November was cancelled. The LGBTQ+ society sent a letter to Anne-Marie Kilday - condemning the invitation - which it seems the Pro Vice Chancellor then withdrew.
We imagine the news that an artist was banned from speaking at Oxford Brookes sends shudders down your spine. Are Universities not the perfect place for informed dialogue and respectful free speech? And would it not be reasonable to expect an institution like Oxford Brookes to find out whether LGB Alliance is “openly transphobic” before accepting that accusation from a student society?
The LGB Alliance held our inaugural meeting on 22 October with an invited audience of former employees and supporters of the lobby group Stonewall, doctors, psychiatrists, academics and lawyers with expertise in child safeguarding.
We expressed our intention to challenge the unscientific concept of gender identity, our commitment to supporting the rights of LGB people, our wish to stop untested hormone treatment and surgery on young people who do not easily fit into gender stereotypes (particularly girls) and our commitment to respectful free speech and informed dialogue. I wonder which of these was thought by your Pro Vice Chancellor to be transphobic. It may also be of interest that one of our speakers was a trans woman called Miranda Yardley and there were other trans people present whom we had invited to the meeting.
We attach a link to the article in the Sunday Times describing what happened in case you have not seen it.
It is the view of the LGB Alliance that, at minimum, you should issue an apology to us as a group and Rachel Ara as an individual. It is most unfortunate that your institution has rushed to judgement on something about which you appear to know very little.
Finally, may we say that we would be delighted to speak to you, your Pro VC or your LGBTQ+ group if you would be interested in really understanding what we are about.
Kind regards Kate Harris & Bev Jackson
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