Essex University Makes Further Apology In Trans Rights Row
A university has apologised to transgender and non-binary staff and students over a review that suggested it had unlawfully no-platformed two female academics whom some had accused of transphobia.
The vice-chancellor of Essex University has written to staff and students to say sorry for the timing of the highly critical report, which was released shortly before exams and Pride month, and for the stress under which it had placed staff and students.
“I have been asked to provide a number of apologies including: to anyone who felt excluded from or affected by the process of contributing to the review; for the manner in which the report was released, and in particular for the timing of the release,” Prof Anthony Forster wrote on the university’s website.
The report by Akua Reindorf, a barrister who specialises in employment and discrimination, said the university’s policy on supporting trans and non-binary staff was based on a misinterpretation of the law and that some members of the institution believed “gender-critical academics can legitimately be excluded”.
As ‘The Guardian’ reports, it was commissioned after two gender-critical academics had speaking engagements cancelled amid claims they were spreading transphobic views and engaging in hate speech that would cause harassment to students.
The report said the university regularly submitted its workplace inclusion policy to the charity Stonewall for approval, and Stonewall appeared not to have picked up on the university’s “incorrect summary of the law”.
It said the policy assumed that “gender identity or trans status” were protected under the law, whereas it is only gender reassignment that is protected. Stonewall has dismissed the distinction as semantics.
The university accepted the report and Forster reasserted its commitment to protecting freedom of speech on the campus and apologised to the two academics.
“I was deeply concerned to read the input into the review from some staff and students who said that they felt constrained to self-censor their speech and activity because of concerns about how we manage the balance between freedom of speech and our commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion,” he wrote at the time.
On Friday he issued the further apology, which he said followed a meeting with trans and non-binary students and staff where they discussed the review’s impact on the community. “In the meeting we discussed how hurt people feel about the outcome and the very negative impact that this has had and continues to have on trans and non-binary staff and students.”
Forster added: “My personal view is that the current law in the UK does not fully respect and protect the identities of trans and non-binary people. I understand that in meeting our obligations to respect academic freedom and freedom of speech within the law, we have given the impression that we might not care about the lived reality of trans and non-binary people.
“As we revise our equality, diversity and inclusion policies and procedures we will continue to go beyond the minimum standards required by law, wherever we can, to ensure that we recognise, respect and protect the identities of trans and non-binary people.”
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