Jordan Williams
Free Speech Union

There has been a lot going on behind the scenes – but as will become evident later this week, it appears that the very good guidance from the Court of Appeal that local councils have duties to protect freedom of speech, is already being ignored.

Speak up for Women 

The reason we’ve been so busy is that we’ve been coordinating behind the scenes with Speak Up For Women as they gear up to fight their recent de-platformings from multiple Council venues across the country.

Speak Up For Women was formed in 2018 in opposition to the Government’s proposal to allow people to self-identify their sex in the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill. They are controversial because, well, they don’t accept the now common ‘gender theory’ that gender is self-identified. They believe that “sex matters” and have been organising events to discuss the Bill before Parliament as they have concerns about it allowing people to very easily declare themselves a different gender.

For those who take the opposing view, Speak Up For Women are a “TERF” group – meaning “Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists”. It used to be a descriptive term but has been acknowledged in British Parliament to be a slur.

Here at the Free Speech Union, we don’t take a position on these matters. But we do reject the accusations that gender critical (“sex matters”) feminists practise “hate speech” and should be silenced.

Recently Judith Collins came to the group’s defence after Christchurch Libraries cancelled one of Speak Up for Women’s earlier events.

Speak Up For Women had to secure a private venue for their Christchurch event. They invited activists who had gathered outside to protest inside to listen on the condition they did not interrupt the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the activists asked questions and had a fruitful discussion. It is curious why Christchurch City Libraries thought they could not possibly host the event due to ‘health and safety’ concerns.

We wrote to Christchurch MP Duncan Webb a few weeks ago to scope out if he could be of assistance as he has previously been an outspoken advocate for free speech but got no response from him. 

You can read our letter here.

We also wrote to the Christchurch City Councillors, threatening legal action, and to find out what involvement elected officials had to cancel the feminist group’s event. 

You can read that letter here. 

Similarly, the Nelson event went ahead with no disruption. Protestors were peaceful and did not disrupt the meeting, just the way it should be – democracy in action.

Kudos to Nelson City Council for recognising they had an obligation to host the event and uphold the Bill of Rights.

We took that to be a really positive sign as Nelson has been one of the Councils who have routinely de-platformed speakers its Mayor disagreed with. Unfortunately, several councillors did come out saying how ‘embarrassed’ and ‘disgusted’ they were with the decision, with one hoping to change Council policy so they can actively exclude groups like Speak Up for Women in the future.

Last week Speak Up For Women spokesperson Beth Johnson joined our spokesman, Dr David Cumin on the Free Speech Union podcast to discuss the group’s recent de-platformings. 

Have a listen above or alternatively click here for the transcript.

There is a lot more water to flow under the bridge on this matter. We are in discussions with some councils who may yet back down and others who we might need to stand up to. Watch this space.

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