Governments and authorities are reversing transgender rights all over Europe. In the UK, trans people face a more subtle but no less serious threat: while our law defends anti-trans or “gender-critical” (“GC”) activists when they criticize trans individuals, it does not provide them or their allies with the same level of protection.
Both Bulgaria and Hungary have outlawed changing one’s lawful sex in continental Europe. The European Court of Human Rights overturned Hungary’s laws, while Bulgarian law is still up for trial. Gender reassignment certificates issued in different states are not recognized in Romania. The Madrid region of Spain has legalized prejudice against transgender people.
Laws prohibiting or advocating for trans rights are currently being considered (or have already been passed) in Romania, Hungary, and Russia. Romania’s constitutional court rejected its initial test, but a new one might soon follow.
The UK might remain adhering to that pattern. The Equality Act 2010, which was passed to protect marginalized communities, serves as the driving force rather than a far-right or totalitarian government. Its purpose is to safeguard generally disadvantaged and marginalized populations. However, according to Milton Friedman, “a given policy’s outcomes do not depend on the aspirations of its makers.”
Discrimination or harassment based on (among other things) faith or belief is prohibited by the Equality Act. The Employment Appeal Tribunal decided in 2021 that Maya Forstater’s activism against gender discrimination was a guarded idea. Allison Bailey, Rachel Meade, Denise Fahmy, and Jo Phoenix came after Forstater. These draw attention to a legal flaw that enables GC activists to publicly criticize transgender people while shielding them from repercussions from the legal system. Trans-people are not equally protected due to the same hole.
This is not the Tribunal’s wrong. Courts are limited to applying the law. In each of the aforementioned instances, the businesses erred. Even without the more severe effects of the legislation, the outcome may have likely remained the same. Officials are to blame for demonizing transgender people rather than tackling complex issues. GC protesters frequently assert that the “woke majority” oppresses them. However, criticizing transgender individuals is not as commonplace as it once was; it is now one of the Prime Minister’s main topics of discussion.
Second, the rights law assumes that everyone has an equal say in public discourse. However, the implications of the discussion are philosophical for transgender people. The fundamental tenet of gender-critical idea is that sexual cannot change. GC work to ensure that their opinions are reflected in policy and law. Similar to discussions between antisemites and Jews, racists and the general populace, Muslims and Islamophobes, trans people don’t engage in academic or political debates. It’s a matter of their very life.
Women’s health is on the range, according to GC campaigners. These assertions are frequently supported by unreliable study or anecdotes. In actuality, trans people are statistically less likely to commit significant crimes than cis persons, whose identity is the same as it was when they were born. Only 0.2% (230 out of about 95,500) of the population are trans people, making up about 0.5% of all prisoners.
The likelihood of transgender people being the victims of violent crime is at least twice as high. Due to being trans, up to 73% of people have experienced abuse and violence. Hate murder against transgender individuals is currently at an all-time high. In line with the rise in the frequency and ferocity of GC efforts since 2017, it has grown by 186%. The death of Brianna Ghey, which was partially motivated by stigmatization, is just the beginning.
Second, the law appears to forbid criticism in response to GC activists’ use of crude (possibly demeaning) language to criticize trans people. Bailey claimed that Stonewall had hired a person “who ran sessions with the sole purpose of instructing bisexual men who identify as homosexuals on how to compel fresh lesbians into having intercourse with them.”
“Boys who identify as women go to Girl Guides,” Meade remarked in a post. Boy Scouts are a group of females who identify as kids. Men who claim to be pedophiles visit both.
She expressed her support for Graham Linehan, a comedian who later became an anti-trans activist and whose common remarks include “almost every main trans figure is a nonce.” Additionally, “Baby green and baby blue are common colors, added to the transgender flag by the panty-sniffing pervert who created it.”
The GC Research Network in Phoenix compiles a list of blogs that imply that transgender individuals reject “reality.” It’s hard to imagine that using language like this would be appropriate if it were directed at groups like Jews or cis people.
Phoenix was compared by one coworker to a prejudiced brother. Individuals questioned Meade’s ability to perform her duties (as a social worker) effectively if she came across transgender people while doing her job. The LGB Alliance, which has made comments about transgender people, was described by Simon Mellor of the
Arts Council as “having a record of anti-trans action.”
Each case’s complexities are unique. But when viewed as a whole, the law seems to give Business special privileges. For instance, the Tribunal determined that the OU ought to have taken more action to quell Phoenix’s censure. Judges have also discovered, however, that institutions are powerless to stifle GC condemnation of trans people.
Third, while the law shields GCs from facing professional repercussions for their activism, it doesn’t seem like there is the same level of protection for trans people or recognition of the actual violence against them to which they contribute. Steph Richards, a trans woman, was chosen as the CEO of an Endometriosis donation, which received criticism from Forstater. Linehan participated in virtual assaults against the trans director of Rape Crisis Scotland. The center was put under quarantine as a result of the level of online animosity and challenges. Bailey founded the LGB Alliance, and Kathleen Stock, a former owner of that organization, has been charged with advocating for the common outing of trans children. None of these received legitimate rebuke.
Free speech is a proper enjoyed by GCs, but not by their detractors. More importantly, transgender individuals have a right to life and to be who they are. It’s not simple to strike a balance between competing right. Trans individuals, however, are fighting to survive while GCs fight to have their interests imposed on people by law and lifestyle.
We are simply people, like you, wanting to live our life without oppression, as transgender journalist Owl Fisher put it. All we want is the freedom to be who we are.
Sam Fowles is a journalist, artist, and lawyer. He is on SamFowles on X.
Sam Fowles and the New European would never intend to imply in this article that Denise Fahmy has “publicly attacked transgender people.” The article makes it clear that Ms. Fahmy’s situation is only mentioned as one of many that highlight the constitutional gap that is covered in the article.
