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Anti-Terf Sussex group announces protest

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Anti-Terf Sussex group announces protest

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PinkNews - Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service

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A group of LGBT+ students at the University of Sussex are demanding that the institution fire philosophy professor Kathleen Stock over her trans-exclusionary views.

Stock - who once said "trans women are still males with male genitalia" - has faced considerable backlash over her views on gender identity. She has also called for trans women to be excluded from certain women-only spaces.

On Wednesday (6 October), students at the University of Sussex launched a campaign calling on the university to terminate Stock's employment over her past comments about gender identity.

An Instagram account has been set up by a group claiming to be made up of trans and non-binary students. In a mission statement posted to social media, the group said Stock has caused "damage" with her "gender critical" views.

"We've f**king had enough," it wrote.

The students branded Stock a "transphobe" and accused her of "espousing a bastardised version of 'radical feminism' that excludes and endangers trans people".

Stock has previously denied that she is transphobic.

"How feminist do you think it is to define a person's social role and access to public spaces by their sexual organs?" the group wrote.

They continued: "Transphobes like Stock are anti-feminist, anti-queer and anti-intellectual, they are harmful and dangerous to trans people.

"They're spiteful bootlickers, with Stock alone spitting out years worth of tweets, articles and organising that makes her distaste for our existence abundantly clear.

"But guess what? We are not up for debate. We cannot be reasoned out of existence. And we will not let people try to."

The group went on to criticise the University of Sussex for continuing to employ Stock, suggesting that the philosophy professor has been allowed to "profit from transphobia".

"The university is actively enabling and encouraging her transphobia by not firing her, which whilst not surprising, has continued for far too long," the group wrote.

They closed out their mission statement: "Our demand is simple: fire Kathleen Stock. Until then, you'll see us around."

According to a social media post by a lecturer at the University of Sussex, students subsequently put up posters condemning Stock's record of making anti-trans comments.

The posters said Stock "makes trans students unsafe" and slammed the university for continuing to pay her. The posters were subsequently removed by security, according to a university lecturer.

University of Sussex launches 'investigation' into student campaign to fire Kathleen Stock

Adam Tickell, vice-chancellor at the University of Sussex, condemned the student campaign in a statement and defended Kathleen Stock from criticism.

"We are investigating activity on our campus which appears to have been designed to attack professor Kathleen Stock for exercising her academic freedoms," Tickell said.

"Disturbingly, this has included pressuring the university to terminate her employment.

"Everyone at the university has the right to be free from harassment and intimidation. We cannot and will not tolerate threats to cherished academic freedoms and will take any action necessary to protect the rights of our community."

A spokesperson for the university added that they were "extremely concerned" by the student campaign, which they characterised as "harassment" of Stock.

"As a university community, we met be able to have complex discussions without bullying or harassment. We will always take swift action when this occurs.

"Our role as a university is to facilitate such conversations to advance shared understanding and common agreement. We insist that these are carried out respectfully and are always protective of our staff and students."

The University of Sussex has faced a storm of criticism on social media over its handling of the student campaign. The hashtag #ShameOnSussexUni started trending in the UK on Twitter on Thursday (7 October) as the backlash intensified.

#ShameOnSussexUni for defending transphobia over trans people's safety and education

- Katy Montgomerie 🦗 (@KatyMontgomerie) October 7, 2021

Solidarity with the students at Sussex Uni ✊❤️ Kathleen Stock is one of biggest transphobes in Britain, and should be nowhere near a teaching establishment. #ShameOnSussexUni

- India Willoughby (@IndiaWilloughby) October 7, 2021

When are we going to have an open and honest debate about transphobia in academia?#ShameOnSussexUni for silencing their students protesting about transphobic academics at their university. Why isn't their free speech being protected, rather than silencing uncomfortable truths? pic.twitter.com/eUHHUCRwH1

- Helen🏳️‍⚧️💙 (@mimmymum) October 7, 2021

Many "gender critical" feminists used the hashtag to criticise the University of Sussex for taking too long to issue a statement condemning the student campaign.

Kathleen Stock first faced backlash from the UK's LGBT+ community in 2018 when she claimed that "trans women are still males with male genitalia".

"I am definitely not saying that trans women are particularly dangerous - they are definitely not," Stock said at the time.

"Most trans people are law abiding and wouldn't dream of harming anyone.

"However, many trans women are still males with male genitalia, many are sexually attracted to females, and they should not be in places where females undress or sleep in a completely unrestricted way."

Stock - who has denied that she is transphobic - found herself at the centre of controversy when she was awarded an OBE. Announcing the honour on Twitter, Stock branded LGBT+ charity Stonewall "a threat to freedom of speech" in a diatribe about "gender identity ideology".

In January, 600 philosophers signed a letter criticising the decision to give Stock an OBE. In the letter, the academics expressed concern about a "tendency to mistake transphobic fear mongering for valuable scholarship, and attacks on already marginalised people for courageous exercises of free speech".

The philosophers said Stock had become "best known" for her "trans exclusionary public and academic discourse on sex and gender" and for her opposition to reform of the Gender Recognition Act (GRA).

PinkNews has contacted Kathleen Stock for comment.

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LGBT+ students demand university fire anti-trans professor: 'We've had enough'

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A group of LGBT+ students at the University of Sussex are demanding that the institution fire philosophy professor Kathleen Stock over her trans-exclusionary views. Stock - who once said "trans women are still males with male genitalia" - has faced considerable backlash over her views on gender identity.

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07 Oct - Stock reports something is happening 

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07 Oct - Stock reports something is happening 

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If you work where I do, and you know what's happening to me at the moment (which I'll discuss at later date), this is the time to say something about it. Not for me, but for you. What kind of future does a University have where intimidation determines what is said or taught?

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
If you work where I do, and you know what's happening to me at the moment (which I'll discuss at later date), this is the time to say something about it. Not for me, but for you. What kind of future does a University have where intimidation determines what is said or taught?

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If you work where I do, and you know what's happening to me at the moment (which I'll discuss at later date), this is the time to say something about it. Not for me, but for you. What kind of future does a University have where intimidation determines what is said or taught?
— Kathleen Stock (@Docstockk) October 7, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
If you work where I do, and you know what's happening to me at the moment (which I'll discuss at later date), this is the time to say something about it. Not for me, but for you. What kind of future does a University have where intimidation determines what is said or taught?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
If you work where I do, and you know what's happening to me at the moment (which I'll discuss at later date), this is the time to say something about it. Not for me, but for you. What kind of future does a University have where intimidation determines what is said or taught?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
If you work where I do, and you know what's happening to me at the moment (which I'll discuss at later date), this is the time to say something about it. Not for me, but for you. What kind of future does a University have where intimidation determines what is said or taught?

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Anti-Terf group posts letter on Instagram

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Anti-Terf group posts letter on Instagram

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by kathleen stock is a transphobe (@antiterfsussex)

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Posters appear on walls of train platform - taken down by locals and/or security

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Posters appear on walls of train platform - taken down by locals and/or security

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Stock describes getting off train and turning around for home.

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Stock describes getting off train and turning around for home.

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@EricRoyalLybeck What part of burning effigies is free speech?

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@EricRoyalLybeck What part of burning effigies is free speech?

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@Helene77915069 So, free speech, but only if you like what they have to say?

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What part of burning effigies is free speech?
— Citizen of Vulva 🟥 💜🤍💚 🦕 (@Helene77915069) October 7, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
@EricRoyalLybeck What part of burning effigies is free speech?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.includes.tweets[].text
@Helene77915069 So, free speech, but only if you like what they have to say?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
@EricRoyalLybeck What part of burning effigies is free speech?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
@EricRoyalLybeck What part of burning effigies is free speech?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.referenced_tweets[].text
@Helene77915069 So, free speech, but only if you like what they have to say?

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VC Adam Tickell defends Stock against protest 'designed to attack' 

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VC Adam Tickell defends Stock against protest 'designed to attack' 

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Everyone at the University has the right, in law and under the University’s Dignity and Respect policy, to be free from harassment and intimidation

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Times demands we stand up to 'student bullies'

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Times demands we stand up to 'student bullies'

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On Tuesday, ten minutes before her lecture, the philosophy professor Kathleen Stock found stickers in the ladies' loos accusing her of voicing "transphobic shit". Shaken, she moved her talk online. On Wednesday morning, she found the underpass leading to the Sussex University campus plastered in posters demanding she be sacked. "The tunnel was bustling with students and staff. When I saw my name, I stopped dead. It was like a terrible stress dream," she says.

Hyperventilating and crying, Stock had a panic attack. She went home, just missing masked figures letting off flares beside a sign reading "Stock Out". A menacing new Instagram account, Anti Terf Sussex, which has 1,100 followers, states: "Our demand is simple: fire Kathleen Stock. Otherwise you'll see us around."

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The silent majority must stand up to student bullies

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On Tuesday, ten minutes before her lecture, the philosophy professor Kathleen Stock found stickers in the ladies' loos accusing her of voicing "transphobic shit". Shaken, she moved her talk online. On Wednesday morning, she found the underpass leading to the Sussex University campus plastered in posters demanding she be sacked.

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Guardian reports on Academic Freedom citing VC Adam Tickell's support

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Guardian reports on Academic Freedom citing VC Adam Tickell's support

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A university has said it will not tolerate threats to "academic freedoms" after a professor faced calls to be sacked over her views on gender identification.

An anonymous group is campaigning to remove Kathleen Stock, a professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex, from her job amid accusations of transphobia.

Prof Adam Tickell, the vice-chancellor at the institution, said: "We are investigating activity on our campus which appears to have been designed to attack Prof Kathleen Stock for exercising her academic freedoms. Disturbingly, this has included pressuring the university to terminate her employment."

His comments come after posters calling for Stock to be fired were reportedly put up near the campus and an image emerged on social media of a campaigner holding a banner saying "Stock Out".

Tickell said: "Everyone at the university has the right to be free from harassment and intimidation. We cannot and will not tolerate threats to cherished academic freedoms and will take any action necessary to protect the rights of our community."

Stock has previously said she is "at odds" with a large section of academics. She has said she believes gender identity is not more important than facts about biological sex "particularly when it comes to law and policy".

The academic tweeted on Thursday: "If you work where I do, and you know what's happening to me at the moment (which I'll discuss at [a] later date), this is the time to say something about it. Not for me, but for you. What kind of future does a university have where intimidation determines what is said or taught?"

The university was urged to do more to protect Stock under the Twitter hashtag ShameOnSussexUni.

In January, hundreds of academics criticised the decision to give Stock an OBE for services to higher education in the New Year honours list.

In an open letter, they condemned academics who use their status to "further gender oppression" and said they denounced "transphobia in all its forms".

The letter said: "Trans people are already deeply marginalised in society, facing well-documented discrimination, ranging from government policy to physical violence. Discourse like that Stock is producing and amplifying contributes to these harms, serving to restrict trans people's access to life-saving medical treatments, encourage the harassment of gender-non-conforming people, and otherwise reinforce the patriarchal status quo. We are dismayed that the British government has chosen to honour her for this harmful rhetoric."

In response to the incidents near the campus on Thursday, a University of Sussex spokesperson said: "We were extremely concerned to see the harassment towards our staff member and took immediate action in response to this, which is continuing. We are deeply committed to being a safe and inclusive university, which values and advances equality and diversity, seeks to resolve conflicts, advances good relations and upholds lawful free speech.

"As a university community, we must be able to have complex discussions without bullying or harassment. We will always take swift action when this occurs.

"Our role as a university is to facilitate such conversations to advance shared understanding and common agreement. We insist that these are carried out respectfully and are always protective of our staff and students."
PA Media contributed to this report

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University defends 'academic freedoms' after calls to sack professor

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A university has said it will not tolerate threats to "academic freedoms" after a professor faced calls to be sacked over her views on gender identification. An anonymous group is campaigning to remove Kathleen Stock, a professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex, from her job amid accusations of transphobia.

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Threats of violence claim shifts from 'effigies' to 'balaclavas', 'bombs', 'etc.' Social Media users begin reporting multiple crimes to Sussex police.

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Threats of violence claim shifts from 'effigies' to 'balaclavas', 'bombs', 'etc.' Social Media users begin reporting multiple crimes to Sussex police.

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I’m going to compile what is publicly available about the police involvement with the Sussex protests: on 10/6, the day of the protests, someone reported it as harassment and they opened an investigation. As of 10/14 it was still being investigated as harassment. https://t.co/uHAK4XKeNR https://t.co/m6GG6ODScc

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I’m going to compile what is publicly available about the police involvement with the Sussex protests: on 10/6, the day of the protests, someone reported it as harassment and they opened an investigation. As of 10/14 it was still being investigated as harassment. https://t.co/uHAK4XKeNR https://t.co/m6GG6ODScc

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This bears no obvious connection to recent publicly reported events (students putting up posters, having a banner) so if I was a journalist I would simply be like “but why”

https://t.co/1Ipk37F6wX https://t.co/8qO4Vtoymv

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Kathleen Stock, the Sussex University professor in trans row, urged t…

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I’m going to compile what is publicly available about the police involvement with the Sussex protests: on 10/6, the day of the protests, someone reported it as harassment and they opened an investigation. As of 10/14 it was still being investigated as harassment. https://t.co/m6GG6ODScc pic.twitter.com/uHAK4XKeNR
— worms cited (@christapeterso) October 15, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
I’m going to compile what is publicly available about the police involvement with the Sussex protests: on 10/6, the day of the protests, someone reported it as harassment and they opened an investigation. As of 10/14 it was still being investigated as harassment. https://t.co/uHAK4XKeNR https://t.co/m6GG6ODScc

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.includes.tweets[].entities.urls[].title
Kathleen Stock, the Sussex University professor in trans row, urged t…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.includes.tweets[].text
This bears no obvious connection to recent publicly reported events (students putting up posters, having a banner) so if I was a journalist I would simply be like “but why”

https://t.co/1Ipk37F6wX https://t.co/8qO4Vtoymv

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
I’m going to compile what is publicly available about the police involvement with the Sussex protests: on 10/6, the day of the protests, someone reported it as harassment and they opened an investigation. As of 10/14 it was still being investigated as harassment. https://t.co/uHAK4XKeNR https://t.co/m6GG6ODScc

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
I’m going to compile what is publicly available about the police involvement with the Sussex protests: on 10/6, the day of the protests, someone reported it as harassment and they opened an investigation. As of 10/14 it was still being investigated as harassment. https://t.co/uHAK4XKeNR https://t.co/m6GG6ODScc

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.referenced_tweets[].entities.urls[].title
Kathleen Stock, the Sussex University professor in trans row, urged t…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.referenced_tweets[].text
This bears no obvious connection to recent publicly reported events (students putting up posters, having a banner) so if I was a journalist I would simply be like “but why”

https://t.co/1Ipk37F6wX https://t.co/8qO4Vtoymv

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Spiked Online weighs in against 'intolerant trans activist'

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Spiked Online weighs in against 'intolerant trans activist'

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Cowardice is the fuel of cancel culture. When someone is sacked or punished for offending a handful of intolerant saddos, this has nothing to do with the power or number or strength of argument among said saddos, and everything to do with the cowardice of institutions or employers, who invariably roll over after the slightest bit of trouble.

Which is why it is so heartening - not to mention unusual - to see the University of Sussex stand up for one of its professors, Kathleen Stock, in the face of a long-running campaign of intimidation and demonisation aimed at smearing her as transphobic. After a renewed call from campus activists this week to have Stock sacked, Sussex said no, and more should follow its example.

Stock is a philosopher and a gender-critical feminist. She's never said anything transphobic; she believes that trans people should be free to live their lives in dignity. She just also believes that allowing male-bodied people into women's spaces, purely because they self-identify as women, is dangerous, and that we should be careful about giving confused kids life- and body-altering treatment.

For daring to voice these unspeakable heresies she has been subjected to a witch-hunt. In January, when Stock was awarded an OBE, 600 academics signed a letter denouncing her 'harmful rhetoric'. This week a student group called 'Anti Terf Sussex' put up posters on campus demanding she be sacked, branding Stock 'one of this wretched island's most prominent transphobes'.

This week, Stock laid down the gauntlet, calling on her colleagues to speak up about what was happening or surrender Sussex to mob rule. 'What kind of future does a university have where intimidation determines what is said or taught?', she asked. The university clearly heard her, and issued a statement yesterday saying it 'will not tolerate threats to cherished academic freedoms'.

Other higher-education leaders should learn from this. After all, gender-critical feminists across the country have been subject to the most appalling treatment. Oxford history professor Selina Todd was given a security detail last year to accompany her to lectures. After a debate on gender self-ID, Reading law professor Rosa Freedman found her office door covered in urine.

The mix of censoriousness and misogyny is breathtaking. And yet so far, too many academics and university leaders have either stared at their shoelaces or joined in. One of Stock's colleagues this week actually said he saluted the protesters. The women's officer at the students' union said she did not support the university's statement, the one that condemned 'harassment and intimidation'.

In the campaign against Stock, we see the heady mix of rage, entitlement and emotional fragility that motors campus censorship today. 'We're not paying £9,250 a year for transphobia', they thundered, sounding like Karens calling for the manager. 'We're not up for debate. We cannot be reasoned out of existence', they wept, even though no one was suggesting otherwise.

These brittle little irks are apparently entirely ignorant of what Stock actually thinks. But perhaps that's to be expected - their shrill denouncements seem to suggest they are unaccustomed to and not particularly fond of engaging with ideas other than their own. 'It's not a debate, it's not feminism, it's not philosophy, it's just transphobia and it's not on', read one of their posters.

This is who university leaders are increasingly surrendering their institutions to - to identitarian mobs who think that mere debate 'erases' them and that academics should be harassed and ousted for holding the 'wrong' views. You can run a re-education camp along those lines, sure, but you cannot call it a university. Without academic freedom, academia cannot function.

British higher education is at a crossroads, and it is time for university leaders to choose a path. Do they think it is acceptable for academics to be harassed and intimidated? Do they think students who barely know anything should dictate what can be thought and taught on campus? In essence, do they want mob rule or academic freedom? Sussex has apparently made its choice. It is time for others to make theirs.

Tom Slater is editor of spiked.
To enquire about republishing spiked's content, a right to reply or to request a correction, please contact the managing editor, Viv Regan.

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Academic freedom or mob rule? Time to pick a side

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Cowardice is the fuel of cancel culture. When someone is sacked or punished for offending a handful of intolerant saddos, this has nothing to do with the power or number or strength of argument among said saddos, and everything to do with the cowardice of institutions or employers, who invariably roll over after the slightest bit of trouble.

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Daily Mail reports Stock is being 'hounded by trans rights mob'

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Daily Mail reports Stock is being 'hounded by trans rights mob'

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Sussex University professor blasts trans rights mob bullying her

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Kathleen Stock, 48, an expert in gender and sexual orientation who works for the University of Sussex, has been branded a ‘transphobe’ by some outraged students.

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Philosophers write letter of Solidarity with the University of Sussex for defending Stock

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Philosophers write letter of Solidarity with the University of Sussex for defending Stock

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Sussex UCU release statement against transphobia and harrassment - Stock says this effectively 'ends her career'. 

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Sussex UCU release statement against transphobia and harrassment - Stock says this effectively 'ends her career'. 

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Kathleen Stock: UCU statement 'ends my career' at Sussex

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Union calls for university management to take a 'clear and strong stance against transphobia'

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Sex Matters pens letter to EHRC chair Kishwer Falkner

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Sex Matters pens letter to EHRC chair Kishwer Falkner

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"The attacks on @Docstockk and the campaign to have her fired are disgraceful. Sussex University is right to investigate these attacks and to defend academic freedom of speech"

@EHRCChair

https://t.co/RhrJyKNWIx

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Times letters: British energy policy and Putin’s grip on gas

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.entities.urls[].description
Sir, Paradoxically we seem to be demanding more Russian gas while opposing a significant new pipeline, Nord Stream 2, for delivering it (“Vladimir Putin accuse

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.original_text
"The attacks on @Docstockk and the campaign to have her fired are disgraceful. Sussex University is right to investigate these attacks and to defend academic freedom of speech"

@EHRCChair

https://t.co/RhrJyKNWIx https://t.co/cZjz3Saedx

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
"The attacks on @Docstockk and the campaign to have her fired are disgraceful. Sussex University is right to investigate these attacks and to defend academic freedom of speech"@EHRCChair https://t.co/RhrJyKNWIx pic.twitter.com/cZjz3Saedx
— Sex Matters (@SexMattersOrg) October 9, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.entities.urls[].title
Times letters: British energy policy and Putin’s grip on gas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.entities.urls[].description
Sir, Paradoxically we seem to be demanding more Russian gas while opposing a significant new pipeline, Nord Stream 2, for delivering it (“Vladimir Putin accuse

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
"The attacks on @Docstockk and the campaign to have her fired are disgraceful. Sussex University is right to investigate these attacks and to defend academic freedom of speech"

@EHRCChair

https://t.co/RhrJyKNWIx https://t.co/cZjz3Saedx

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
"The attacks on @Docstockk and the campaign to have her fired are disgraceful. Sussex University is right to investigate these attacks and to defend academic freedom of speech"

@EHRCChair

https://t.co/RhrJyKNWIx https://t.co/cZjz3Saedx

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
"The attacks on @Docstockk and the campaign to have her fired are disgraceful. Sussex University is right to investigate these attacks and to defend academic freedom of speech"

@EHRCChair

https://t.co/RhrJyKNWIx

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.entities.urls[].title
Times letters: British energy policy and Putin’s grip on gas

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.entities.urls[].description
Sir, Paradoxically we seem to be demanding more Russian gas while opposing a significant new pipeline, Nord Stream 2, for delivering it (“Vladimir Putin accuse

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UCU officials are subjected to targeted harassment - accused of being 'witchfinders'

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UCU officials are subjected to targeted harassment - accused of being 'witchfinders'

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Matt Goodwin argues those staying silent are complicit. 

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Matt Goodwin argues those staying silent are complicit. 

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Of the most prominent academics on Twitter who argued threats to academic freedom were non-existent or exaggerated -Jon Portes, Rob Ford, etc- almost all have so far ignored Stock case or sought to further discredit her (below). Perhaps they cd use platform to condemn treatment?

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Of the most prominent academics on Twitter who argued threats to academic freedom were non-existent or exaggerated -Jon Portes, Rob Ford, etc- almost all have so far ignored Stock case or sought to further discredit her (below). Perhaps they cd use platform to condemn treatment? https://t.co/fKXPhVHeyN

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Of the most prominent academics on Twitter who argued threats to academic freedom were non-existent or exaggerated -Jon Portes, Rob Ford, etc- almost all have so far ignored Stock case or sought to further discredit her (below). Perhaps they cd use platform to condemn treatment? pic.twitter.com/fKXPhVHeyN
— Matt Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) October 11, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.text
Of the most prominent academics on Twitter who argued threats to academic freedom were non-existent or exaggerated -Jon Portes, Rob Ford, etc- almost all have so far ignored Stock case or sought to further discredit her (below). Perhaps they cd use platform to condemn treatment? https://t.co/fKXPhVHeyN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Of the most prominent academics on Twitter who argued threats to academic freedom were non-existent or exaggerated -Jon Portes, Rob Ford, etc- almost all have so far ignored Stock case or sought to further discredit her (below). Perhaps they cd use platform to condemn treatment? https://t.co/fKXPhVHeyN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Of the most prominent academics on Twitter who argued threats to academic freedom were non-existent or exaggerated -Jon Portes, Rob Ford, etc- almost all have so far ignored Stock case or sought to further discredit her (below). Perhaps they cd use platform to condemn treatment?

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13 Oct - UCU affirms Sussex UCU statement which 'makes clear its opposition to harassment and bullying of staff and students'

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13 Oct - UCU affirms Sussex UCU statement which 'makes clear its opposition to harassment and bullying of staff and students'

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A UCU spokesperson said: ’UCU supports the statement from UCU Sussex branch which makes clear its opposition to the harassment and bullying of staff and students. The statement is also clear that UCU is not calling for any staff to be dismissed from their post.

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13  Oct - Sussex student officer Amelia Jones appears in discussion on BBC 

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13  Oct - Sussex student officer Amelia Jones appears in discussion on BBC 

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There should be distinction between "academic freedom and freedom of speech" says Amelia Jones, trans and non-binary student officer for Sussex University

Sussex academic Kathleen Stock faced calls to be sacked for views on gender identity

https://t.co/Ah5bbbwRuu #PoliticsLive

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University of Sussex backs professor in free speech row

# data[].attributes.wish_content.attachment_props.entities.urls[].description
Anonymous protesters called for Professor Kathleen Stock to be fired for her views on gender identity.

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Sussex University Sussex academic Kathleen Stock

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There should be distinction between "academic freedom and freedom of speech" says Amelia Jones, trans and non-binary student officer for Sussex University

Sussex academic Kathleen Stock faced calls to be sacked for views on gender identity

https://t.co/Ah5bbbwRuu #PoliticsLive https://t.co/aVIVcGOS3R

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There should be distinction between "academic freedom and freedom of speech" says Amelia Jones, trans and non-binary student officer for Sussex University

Sussex academic Kathleen Stock faced calls to be sacked for views on gender identityhttps://t.co/Ah5bbbwRuu #PoliticsLive pic.twitter.com/aVIVcGOS3R
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) October 13, 2021

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University of Sussex backs professor in free speech row

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.entities.urls[].description
Anonymous protesters called for Professor Kathleen Stock to be fired for her views on gender identity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.data.entities.annotations[].normalized_text
Sussex University Sussex academic Kathleen Stock

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There should be distinction between "academic freedom and freedom of speech" says Amelia Jones, trans and non-binary student officer for Sussex University

Sussex academic Kathleen Stock faced calls to be sacked for views on gender identity

https://t.co/Ah5bbbwRuu #PoliticsLive https://t.co/aVIVcGOS3R

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
There should be distinction between "academic freedom and freedom of speech" says Amelia Jones, trans and non-binary student officer for Sussex University

Sussex academic Kathleen Stock faced calls to be sacked for views on gender identity

https://t.co/Ah5bbbwRuu #PoliticsLive https://t.co/aVIVcGOS3R

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
There should be distinction between "academic freedom and freedom of speech" says Amelia Jones, trans and non-binary student officer for Sussex University

Sussex academic Kathleen Stock faced calls to be sacked for views on gender identity

https://t.co/Ah5bbbwRuu #PoliticsLive

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University of Sussex backs professor in free speech row

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.entities.urls[].description
Anonymous protesters called for Professor Kathleen Stock to be fired for her views on gender identity.

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Sussex University Sussex academic Kathleen Stock

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Times reports 'trans row' and 'Assault on the Academy'

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Times reports 'trans row' and 'Assault on the Academy'

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A university is neither a cloister nor a finishing school. It champions knowledge through the methods of critical inquiry. It is a scandal and a disgrace that an academic at an English university must keep off campus and teach solely online because of threats to her personal safety. Yet that is the police advice given to Kathleen Stock, a philosopher at Sussex University, who has withstood a torrent of abuse for expressing conscientiously held opinions that violate the orthodoxies of radical transgender campaigners.

Professor Stock is a feminist thinker who has written extensively on gender. She maintains that a person's sex is an immutable biological fact. A transgender person may have a strong desire to be designated differently, and this should be respected, but

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The Times view on the Kathleen Stock trans row: Assault on the Academy

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A university is neither a cloister nor a finishing school. It champions knowledge through the methods of critical inquiry. It is a scandal and a disgrace that an academic at an English university must keep off campus and teach solely online because of threats to her personal safety.

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14 Oct - Stock claims Jones lied - and that a 'correction' was made by BBC

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14 Oct - Stock claims Jones lied - and that a 'correction' was made by BBC

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Stock withdraws from teaching this semester.

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Stock withdraws from teaching this semester.

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Suzanne Moore reports 'Stock has been hounded out of her job'

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Suzanne Moore reports 'Stock has been hounded out of her job'

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Apparently, freedom of speech includes the right to have blatant falsehoods in your headline. Or have I missed a dramatic new development?

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Apparently, freedom of speech includes the right to have blatant falsehoods in your headline. Or have I missed a dramatic new development? https://t.co/d1pxmupXdj

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Apparently, freedom of speech includes the right to have blatant falsehoods in your headline. Or have I missed a dramatic new development? pic.twitter.com/d1pxmupXdj
— David Andress (@ProfDaveAndress) October 14, 2021

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Apparently, freedom of speech includes the right to have blatant falsehoods in your headline. Or have I missed a dramatic new development? https://t.co/d1pxmupXdj

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Apparently, freedom of speech includes the right to have blatant falsehoods in your headline. Or have I missed a dramatic new development? https://t.co/d1pxmupXdj

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Apparently, freedom of speech includes the right to have blatant falsehoods in your headline. Or have I missed a dramatic new development?

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14 Oct - Letter circulates amongst academic staff and alumni condemn 'posters and stickers calling for her to be fired' noting 'we stand' with Stock, including her interpretation that 'sex' is legally separate from rights of trans people (with gender reassignment) - currently 2500+ signatures

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14 Oct - Letter circulates amongst academic staff and alumni condemn 'posters and stickers calling for her to be fired' noting 'we stand' with Stock, including her interpretation that 'sex' is legally separate from rights of trans people (with gender reassignment) - currently 2500+ signatures

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Universities Minister Michelle Donelan defends Stock claiming HE Bill will prevent Free Speech issues in future.

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Universities Minister Michelle Donelan defends Stock claiming HE Bill will prevent Free Speech issues in future.

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Free speech is important to all of us. We are a nation whose democracy was founded on the idea that we settle our differences of opinion through honest, open debate, not through violence and intimidation.

For centuries, universities have been instrumental in the effort to promote and protect these liberal values. Afterall, many of the fundamental ideas that helped to build today's society were once controversial, fringe ideas that only reached prominence through open debate on the campuses of universities up and down the country.

This was only possible because controversial ideas once had to pass through the intense rigor of academic debate. These debates helped to direct our national conversation outside university and improved the way we relate to those we disagree with. But

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Intimidation of Kathleen Stock is an attack on democratic ideals

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Free speech is important to all of us. We are a nation whose democracy was founded on the idea that we settle our differences of opinion through honest, open debate, not through violence and intimidation. For centuries, universities have been instrumental in the effort to promote and protect these liberal values.

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16 Oct - 240 academics submit letter to EHRC, reported in the Times.  Demand a 'Reindorf Review' for the entire university sector to stop imposition of 'radical gender orthodoxy' and to 'prevent discrimination against those who recognise that sex is a protected characteristic'

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16 Oct - 240 academics submit letter to EHRC, reported in the Times.  Demand a 'Reindorf Review' for the entire university sector to stop imposition of 'radical gender orthodoxy' and to 'prevent discrimination against those who recognise that sex is a protected characteristic'

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In the face of ongoing harassment and discrimination against university staff and students because of their beliefs on sex and gender 240 academics have written to Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chair of the EHRC asking for the EHRC to undertake a " Reindorf Review" for the higher education sector. Download the letter

The letter appears in edited form in the Sunday Times and also features in an article by Sian Griffiths.

Read the letter

Dear Baroness Kishwer Falkner

Thank you for publicly stating that the attacks on Professor Kathleen Stock at Sussex University are disgraceful, and for calling on other institutions to follow Sussex University's lead to stop these attacks on freedom of speech.

The EHRC has previously published guidance on freedom of expression in higher education. However this is not just an issue of freedom of expression, but of harassment and discrimination on the basis of characteristics protected under the Equality Act: sex, belief and sexual orientation. Universities have created an intimidating, hostile, degrading and humiliating environment for staff and students who recognise that sex matters.

Sex Matters has logged 80 news reports of similar bullying, harassment and no-platforming incidents across UK Universities including Edinburgh, Bath Spa, Kings College London, Oxford, Reading, University College London, Essex, Liverpool John Moores, Bristol, the Open University, Durham, York, Huddersfield, Exeter, Imperial and Cambridge Universities which have occurred over the past five years. And we know of many other cases which have not been reported in the media. Professor Stock herself has compiled a set of anonymous testimonies from academics facing harassment and discrimination at UK Universities because of their beliefs on sex and gender-compounded in most cases by their sex and in some cases by their sexual orientation.

The review by Akua Reindorf of the events at Essex University highlighted a culture of fear, enabled by policies which violate the Equality Act, and a system of institutionalised discrimination and intimidation by "trans rights activists" within the university. There is ample evidence that this is not limited to Essex University

It is now clear that many university leaders lack the courage or capacity to address the issue, which they have allowed to continue for several years in the face of mounting public criticism. Following the release of the Reindorf review, the Vice-Chancellor of Essex (Professor Anthony Forster) issued an extraordinary apology for the manner of undertaking the review itself, for releasing it "during Pride Month" and to "anyone having been made to feel unsafe as a result of the Review." In 2019 Imperial College London vice-provost apologised for "liking" tweets by the organisation Transgender Trend. The London School of Economics has taken no public action after the Department of Gender Studies denounced the Gender Critical Research Network established at the Open University, nor after it emerged that the department had promoted a student essay which fantasized about stabbing "TERFs".

Almost all universities in the UK remain members of the Stonewall Champions Scheme, which promulgates misleading information about the Equality Act. After the EHRC announced it was intervening in the Forstater case in support for freedom of belief, Stonewall together with other members of the LGBT consortium wrote to you castigating that decision. Stonewall have not revised their guidance in light of the Forstater judgment which recognised that believing that sex is real and important is a protected characteristic. The Athena Swan scheme encourages Higher Education Institutions to monitor gender identity not sex.

Universities that have chosen to remain committed members of the Stonewall scheme following the Reindorf Review have shown that they will continue to discriminate against academics who uphold a distinction between sex and gender, especially those who are female.

We call on the EHRC to undertake a comprehensive review of policies and practices in UK Universities that impose a radical gender orthodoxy. This review should recommend new guidance to prevent discrimination against those who recognise that sex is a protected characteristic.

Yours sincerely

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta FBA FRS, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Cambridge

Professor Sir Michael Pepper FREng FRS, Pender Professor of Nanoelectronics, University College London

Professor Arif Ahmed MBE, Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge

Professor Donald Nicolson OBE, Professor, University of Essex

Professor Sophie Scott CBE, University College London

Professor Ian Acheson FRSA, Visiting Professor, Staffordshire University

Professor Hannah Barker, University of Manchester

Professor Timothy Bates, Professor of psychology, University of Edinburgh

Professor Andrew Bennett, Professor, University of Bristol

Professor Chetan Bhatt, Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science

Professor Stephanie Bird, Professor of German Studies, University College London

Professor Robert Black QC FRSE, Professor Emeritus of Scots Law, University of Edinburgh

Professor Simon Blackburn FBA,FAAAS,FAHA, Emeritus Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge, University of Cambridge

Professor Deborah Cameron, Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication, Oxford University

Professor Jackie Cassell FRCP, FFPH, Professor of Primary Care Epidemiology, Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Professor Sin Yi Cheung, Professor of Sociology, Cardiff University

Professor David Curtis FRCPsych, Honorary Professor, University College London

Professor Andrew Davies, Professor of Modern Social History, University of Liverpool

Professor Paul Du Gay, Professor,

Professor John Dupré FAAAS, FAAAS, FRSA, Professor of Philosophy of Science, University of Exeter

Professor Debbie Epstein, Emerita Professor of Cultural Studies in Education, University of Roehampton

Professor Matthew Fox, Professor of Classics, University of Glasgow

Professor Rosa Freedman, Professor of Law,Conflict and Global Development, University of Reading

Professor Sarah Garfinkel, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, UCL

Professor Matthew Goodwin, Professor, University of Kent

Professor Simon Goodwin, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Sheffield

Professor Lesley Gourlay, Professor of Education, University College London

Professor Anne Green, Professor of Physics, University of Nottingham

Professor Lee Grieveson, Professor of Media History, UCL

Professor Francois Guesnet, Professor, University College London

Professor Jonathan Hearn, University of Edinburgh

Professor Robin Hogan, Professor of Atmospheric Physics, University of Reading

Professor Stephen Jenkins, LSE

Professor Matthew Kramer FBA, Professor of Legal & Political Philosophy, Cambridge University

Professor Richard Laing MRICS FRSA, Professor (Architecture and Built Environment), Robert Gordon University

Professor Ellie Lee, Professor, University of Kent

Professor Mary Leng, Professor of Philosophy, University of York

Professor Eva Lomnicka QC (Hon), Professor of Law (semi-retired), Dickson Poon School of Law

Professor Colin MacCabe, Dept of English and Humanities, Birkbeck, University of London (retired)

Professor John Macdonald, Professor, Cardiff University

Professor John Maloney, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Exeter

Professor Kieran McEvoy FAcSS MRIA FBA, Professor of Law and Transitional Justice, Queens University Belfast

Professor Aileen McHarg, Professor of Public Law and Human Rights, Durham University

Professor Jane Monckton Smith, Professor of Public Protection, University of Gloucestershire

Professor Michele Moore, Head of Centre for Social Justice and Global Responsibility, London South Bank University

Professor Tim Newburn, Professor of Criminology and Social Policy, London School of Economics

Professor Katherine Newey, Chair of Theatre History,University of Exeter, University of Exeter

Professor Sean Nixon, Professor, University of Essex

Professor Lindsay Paterson FBA,FRSE, Professor of Education Policy, University of Edinburgh

Professor Sarah Pedersen, Professor of Communication and Media, Robert Gordon University

Professor Richard Percival, Professor of Criminal Law and Practice, University of Sheffield

Professor Jo Phoenix, Chair,criminology, The Open University

Professor David Pilgrim, Honorary Professor of Health &Social Policy, University of Liverpool

Professor Lucinda Platt, LSE

Professor Sally Power, Professor, Cardiff University

Professor Angelique Richardson, Professor, University of Exeter

Professor Sheila Riddell, Professor of Education, Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh

Professor Karen Ross, Professor of Gender and Media

, Newcastle University

Professor Judith Rowbotham FRSA,FRHistS, Visiting Professor, University of Plymouth

Professor Alan Sokal, Professor of Mathematics, University College London

Professor Irena Spasic, Professor, Cardiff University

Professor Perdita Stevens, Personal Chair in Mathematics of Software Engineering, University of Edinburgh

Professor Jill Stewart, Professor of Systems Modelling and Optimisation, University of Derby

Professor Doug Stokes, Professor, University of Exeter

Professor John Strawson, Honorary Professor of Law, University of East London

Professor Judith Suissa, Professor of Philosophy of Education, UCL Institute of Education

Professor Alice Sullivan, Professor of Sociology, University College London

Professor John Tasioulas, Professor of Ethics and Legal Philosophy, University of Oxford

Professor Selina Todd, Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford

Professor Robert Tombs CPA, Emeritus Professor of French History, University of Cambridge

Professor James Treadwell, Professor of Criminology, Staffordshire University

Professor Alison Twells, Professor of Social and Cultural History, Sheffield Hallam University

Professor Roger Waston FRCN FRCP Edin FRCN, Professor of Nursing, University of Hull

Professor Peter Watts QC, Visiting Professor of Law, Harris Manchester College, Oxford

Professor Timothy Williamson FBA, FRSE, MAE, IHMAAAS, Wykeham Professor of Logic, University of Oxford

Professor Robert Wintemute, Professor of Human Rights Law, King's College London

Professor David Wootton, Anniversary Professor of History, University of York

Professor Emeritus Steve Hall, Retired, Teesside University

Professor Emeritus William Scott, Professor Emeritus, University of Bath

Professor Emeritus Iain Hampsher-Monk, Emeritus Professor of Political Theory, University of Exeter

Dr Sophie Allen, Lecturer in Philosophy, Keele University

Dr Arianna Andreangeli, Senior lecturer in Competition Law, University of Edinburgh

Dr John Armstrong, Senior Lecturer, King's College London

Dr Peter Astheimer, Ex Professor/ Director, University of Abertay Dundee

Dr June Balshaw, Lecturer retired/visiting fellow, University of Greenwich

Dr Elizabeth Barrett, Senior Lecturer in Education, Sheffield. Hallam University

Dr Stephen Basdeo, Lecturer,

Dr John Baxendale, Visiting Fellow in Cultural History, Sheffield Hallam University

Dr Shereen Benjamin, Senior Lecturer in Primary Education, University of Edinburgh

Dr Michael Biggs, Associate Professor of Sociology and Fellow of St Cross College, University of Oxford

Dr Linnie Blake, Reader, Manchester Metropolitan University

Dr Janice Blenkinsopp, Research Associate, HWU

Dr Paula Boddington FRSA, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Healthcare, University of West London

Dr Diane Brewster, Retired Academic, Sussex & OU

Dr Rachel Broady, Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores

Dr Heather Brunskell-Evans, retired academic, Kings College London

Dr Peter Bryden MRCGP, PhD Candidate. Retired Medical Practitioner, University of Exeter

Dr M. Chirimuuta, Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh

Dr Sharon Clancy,

Dr Gary Clapton, Honorary Fellow, University of Edinburgh

Dr Fiona Cosson, Head of School,Humanities and Social Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University

Dr Elizabeth Dalgarno, Lecturer, University of Manchester

Dr Madeleine Davies, Associate Professor, University of Reading

Dr Roopal Desai, Research Fellow, University College London

Dr Juliana Dresvina, University of Oxford

Dr Debbie Du Preez, Lecturer in Economics, University of Exeter

Dr Nadia Edmond, Principal Lecturer, University of Brighton

Dr Mark Ellerby, Honorary Research Associate, UCL

Dr Fiona English, Senior Honorary Research Associate, UCL

Dr Jessica Evans, Senior Lecturer,Sociology Department., The Open University

Dr Jeanette Findlay FRSA, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Glasgow

Dr Dalvir Gill, Senior Lecturer, University of Roehampton

Dr Luna Glucksberg, Research Fellow, LSE

Dr Charlotte Goodburn, Senior Lecturer, King's College London

Dr Amanda Gosling, Senior Lecturer, School of Economics,University of Kent

Dr Yvonne Hail, Research Fellow, University of Stirling

Dr Laura Hamilton, Research Fellow, University of Hertfordshire

Dr Johanna Harris, Senior Lecturer, University of Exeter

Dr Anna Hartnell, Senior Lecturer, Birkbeck,University of London

Dr Sheila Henderson, Retired Senior Lecturer, University of Dundee

Dr Rebecca Hibbin, Lecturer, Uclan

Dr Emma Hilton, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Manchester

Dr Sian Hindle, Senior Lecturer, Birmingham City University

Dr David Hirsh, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Goldsmiths,University of London

Dr Andrew Hobbs FRHistS, Senior Lecturer, University of Central Lancashire

Dr Zoe Hollowood, Alumni, University of Cambridge

Dr Sarah Honeychurch, Good Practice Adviser, University of Glasgow

Dr Clare Horrocks, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores

Dr Chloe Houston, Associate Professor, University of Reading

Dr Rachel Howell, Lecturer in Sociology/Sustainable Development, University of Edinburgh

Dr. Miroslav Imbrisevic, Associate Lecturer, Open University

Dr Robin Ion, Senior Lecturer, University of the West of Scotland

Dr Robin Ion, Senior Lecturer, University of the West of Scotland

Dr Paula James, Retired senior lecturer classical studies, Open University

Dr Betty Jay, Senior Lecturer, Royal Holloway, University of London

Dr Jagbir Jhutti-Johal, Reader, University of Birmingham

Dr Stephen John, Associate Professor, University of Cambridge

Dr Jane Clare Jones, Director, Centre for Feminist Thought

Dr Louise Kay, Lecturer, University of Sheffield

Dr Elliot Kendall, Associate Professor, University of Exeter

Dr Ann Kolodziejski,

Dr Sian Lacey Taylder, PhD student, University of Exeter

Dr Ann MacDonald, Senior Lecturer in Primary Eduction, University of Edinburgh

Dr Gale Macleod, Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh

Dr Angela Mansi, Senior lecturer, University of Westminster

Dr Janette Martin, Teaching and Research Manager, University of Manchester

Dr Susan Matthews, Associate Research Fellow, Birkbeck College

Dr Caoimhe McAnena, Senior Lecturer, Goldsmiths,University of London

Dr Alison McClean, Lecturer, University of the West of England

Dr Laura McGrath, Lecturer, Open University

Dr Colin Mills, Associate Professor, University of Oxford

Dr Emma Milne, Assistant Professor in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, Durham University

Dr Victoria Moul, Reader, UCL

Dr Kath Murray, Research Fellow in Criminology, University of Edinburgh

Dr Paul Norman, Associate Professor, University of Leeds

Dr Sarah O'Flynn, Deputy Dean in School of Education, Roehampton University

Dr Deirdre O'Neill, Lecturer, University of Hertfordshire

Dr Alison Penn, Senior Lecturer, The Open University

DR Laetitia Pichevin, Senior researcher, University of Edinburgh

Dr Jon Pike FRSA, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Open University

Dr Eva Poen, Lecturer in Economics, University of Exeter

Dr. Thomas Prosser, Reader in European social policy, Cardiff University

Dr Helen Pryce, Senior lecturer, Aston University

Dr Hannah Quirk, Reader in Criminal Law, King's College London

Dr Helen Rogers, Research Fellow, Liverpool John Moores University

Dr Michael Rosie, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Edinburgh

Dr Michael Sanders, Senior Lecturer, University of Manchester

Dr Eurig Scandrett, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Queen Margaret University,Edinburgh

Dr Eleanor Scott, Retired, Newcastle University,Leicester University,Open University,Reading University,Winchester University; Portsmouth City Council Cabinet Member.

Dr Susan Scott Hunt, Retired Associate Professor of Law, Middlesex University

Dr Lesley Semmens, Senior Lecturer (retired), Leeds Beckett University

Dr Simon Shackley, Reader, University of Edinburgh

Dr Danielle Sinnett, Associate Professor, UWE

Dr Edward Skidelsky, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Exeter

Dr Holly Smith, Lecturer in Higher Education, UCL Institute of Education

Dr Ian Stark, Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh

Dr Jill Steans, Senior Lecturer (retired), Birmingham/Keele/NTU/OU

Dr Ray Stoneham, Principal Lecturer (retired), University of Greenwich

Dr Geraldine Stoneham, Principal Lecturer (retired), London South Bank University

Dr Neil Thin, Senior Lecturer, University of Edinburgh

Dr Mira Vogel, Lecturer, King's College London

Dr Lynne Wainwright, LJMU

Dr Lee Walters, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Southampton

Dr Paula Warrington,

Dr Carina Westling, Senior Lecturer, Bournemouth University

Dr Emily Wheater, PhD alumna, University of Edinburgh

Dr Elizabeth White, Senior lecturer, UWE

Dr Peter Williams, Affiliated Lecturer, Faculty of Divinity,University of Cambridge

Mr Jonny Best, PhD student, University of Huddersfield

Mr Chris Blue, Retired lecturer in Social Work., Durham University.

Ms Elizabeth Burrough, Research Associate, University of Edinburgh

Mr John Collins, Professor, University of East Anglia

Ms Wilma De Jong, Retired senior lecturer, University of Sussex

Ms Cathy Devine, Independent Researcher,previously Senior Lecturer in Sport and Physical Activity, Previously,University of Cumbria

Mrs Charlotte Edun, MA Researcher, University of York

Ms Liz Elkind, Lecturer in Community Eduction (retired), University of Edinburgh

Ms Sue England, Lecturer in Law,Abertay University and Dundee University,retired

Solicitor England and Wales, Abertay University Dundee University

Ms Lucinda Evans, PhD student, University College London

Mr Tim Green, Student, Regent's Park College,Oxford University

Ms Susan Hawkes, Principal Lecturer, University of Wolverhampton

Mr Rod Hine, Antenna Consultant, University of Leeds

Ms Andrea Holland, Lecturer, University of East Angia

Mr Peter Jenkins, Senior Lecturer (Retired), University of Manchester

Ms Kathleen Jenkins, Retired lecturer, University of Edinburgh

Ms Judy Keiner, Former Senior Lecturer in Education,University of Reading, University of Reading

Mr Tim Kent, Programme Leader MA Inclusive Education, Roehampton University

Ms Sue Kilminster, Retired, University of leeds

Ms Alison Lacey, PhD researcher, University of Sussex

Ms Tracey Logan, PhD student, University of Leicester

Ms Joanna Lowry, Principal

Lecturer (retired), University of Brighton

Mr Gilbert Markus, Researcher, University of Glasgow

Ms Aileen McColgan QC, Former professor of law, King's College London and the University of Leeds

Ms Janice McGhee, Honorary Fellow,School of Social and Political Science, The University of Edinburgh

Ms Sally Millar, Research Fellow,Centre Director (retired), University of Edinburgh

Mr Paul Milnes, Retired Senior Lecturer, London Metropolitan University

Mrs SK Moss, Associate Lecturer, Open University

Ms Maureen O'Hara, Senior Lecturer in Law, Coventry University

Ms Stella O'Malley, Research Postgraduate Student, Dundee

Ms Ellen Pasternack, PhD Researcher, University of Oxford, Department of Zoology

Mr Levi Pay, Former Director of Student Services, King's College London

Mrs Samantha Pay, DPhil student, University of Oxford

Mr Timothy Pitt-Payne QC, Former Visiting Professor of Information Law, University of Northumbria

Ms Lynne Pratt, Coordinator of PGDE secondary teacher education programme - retired, University of Edinburgh

Miss Florence Richardson, Rapid Prototying Engineering Technician, University of Bath

Ms Rose Rickford, PhD student, University of York

Ms Jane Sedgewick, Lecturer in Education, University of Sussex

Ms Geraldine Shaw, International Primary Science Author

Former Senior Lecturer in Science Education, Sheffield Hallam University

Ms Deborah Siddoway, PhD Candidate, University of Durham

Mrs Gillian Staerck, retired, Institute of Contemporary British History

Ms Denise Sumpter, PhD Student, Birkbeck College London

Ms Georgia Testa, Associate Professor, University of Leeds

Ms Sally Wainwright, Senior lecturer, retired, Heriot Watt university

Ms Jessica Winkler, Safeguarding Manager, UWE Bristol

Ms Freda Wolfenden, Professor of Education and International Development, The Open University

Mr Scott Wortley, Lecturer in private law, University of Edinburgh

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Academics write to the EHRC - Sex Matters

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In the face of ongoing harassment and discrimination against university staff and students because of their beliefs on sex and gender 240 academics have written to Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chair of the EHRC asking for the EHRC to undertake a "Reindorf Review" for the higher education sector.

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Letter against UCU's handling of matter printed in Times

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Letter against UCU's handling of matter printed in Times

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Sir, Helen Puttick's article ("Chemists provide antibiotics in template for Javid reforms", Oct 15) illustrates the problem with delegating GP consultations to related professionals, with a pharmacist quoted as saying that they were busy prescribing for "skin infections with insect bites". Contrary to popular belief, insect bites, even when markedly inflamed, are rarely infected, and the overuse of antibiotics is creating significant problems with resistance. The job is not as simple as it looks to some.
Dr Douglas Salmon
Ret'd GP, Birmingham

Sir, I, too, have reservations over the proposal that pharmacists treat "minor ailments" ( letters, Oct 12 & 14). During the first lockdown I developed a rash on my leg that wasn't clearing, so decided to consult a pharmacist. The first said

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Times letters: Javid's faith in face-to-face GP appointments

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Sir, Helen Puttick's article ("Chemists provide antibiotics in template for Javid reforms", Oct 15) illustrates the problem with delegating GP consultations to related professionals, with a pharmacist quoted as saying that they were busy prescribing for "skin infections with insect bites".

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Times publishes an 'expose' on the 'cloak and dagger' student campaign.

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Times publishes an 'expose' on the 'cloak and dagger' student campaign.

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Inside the ‘cloak and dagger’ campaign against Kathleen Stock

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Students calling for the resignation of Kathleen Stock have said their campaign has been “cloak and dagger” in order to protect their own members from online h

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The Economist reports 'campaign of harassment against Stock'

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The Economist reports 'campaign of harassment against Stock'

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S TUDY PHILOSOPHY at Sussex University and, in your first year, you may read John Locke. The Enlightenment thinker is celebrated today for his "Letter Concerning Toleration", in which he argued that to compel men "by fire and sword to profess certain doctrines" was not only immoral but pointless: the only true persuasion is the "inward persuasion of the mind". If the students and staff denouncing Kathleen Stock, a professor in the philosophy department, are familiar with Locke's argument, they seem unmoved by it.

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Since term began protesters in balaclavas and masks have been denouncing Professor Stock's "transphobia". They have let off flares next to signs saying "Stock Out" and put up posters reading "We're not paying £9,250 [$12,600] a year for transphobia-fire Kathleen Stock". One group stated that: "Our demand is simple: fire Kathleen Stock. Until then, you'll see us around." Police have advised her to install CCTV cameras at home and implied that she may need security guards to return to campus.

For years, a debate has rumbled over whether there is a problem with free speech in British universities. Those who say there is not deny that "cancel culture" is a real thing and regard those who disagree with them, wherever they sit on the political spectrum, as reactionaries borrowing talking points from the American right. Their opponents point out that silencing is by its nature hard to detect: silence doesn't make much noise. For them Professor Stock is not merely a persecuted woman. She is proof, personified.

As any good academic would point out, one is a poor sample size. But there is other evidence that free speech is at risk in British universities. A report by the University and College Union ( UCU) in 2017 ranked Britain 27th out of the (then) 28 members of the European Union for the legal protection of academic freedom. A study from Policy Exchange, a right-leaning think-tank, found that 32% of academics who identified as politically right-leaning, and 15% of those who identified as centrist, practised self-censorship. Speak to academics and many will tell you that there is a problem-and tell you not to quote them.

Few academics (generally a leftie lot) will shed many tears over the silencing of more right-wing colleagues. What makes Professor Stock's case so illustrative, then, is that her credentials (liberal, lesbian, feminist, OBE) are so impeccable and her claims so vanilla. She is being vilified because she has said, and written in a recent book, "Material Girls", that biological sex exists and should in some circumstances take precedence over self-declared gender identity, and that therefore some female-only spaces (women's changing rooms, sports, prisons) should be off-limits to trans women, that is, males who identify as women. That accords closely with most Britons' opinions, and with British law.

But activists who oppose her argue that such views should not be taught uncritically in universities. Lecturers might teach biological sex as a historical artefact, says one, just as they would teach that people used to believe "toxic things about the priority of white people". But just as universities would not teach eugenics, so the immutable, binary nature of sex should not be promoted "as an ideology that is real".

To believe that biology is bunkum may be novel, but students have always been a rum bunch. In the 19th century they set fire to effigies to protest against degrees for women. In the 20th, they embraced communism. But when students turned Trot, vice-chancellors did not don boilersuits and salute their comrades. Modern academia has been less stalwart.

In January more than 600 academics signed an open letter protesting against Professor Stock being awarded an OBE. Rather than condemning the attacks against her, the Sussex branch of the UCU urged a university-wide investigation into "institutional transphobia" and warned that "appeals to both employment rights and academic freedom are often instrumentlised" (in other words, used as cover for bigotry). Shereen Benjamin, a sociologist at Edinburgh University, has long suffered harassment for similar views. In 2019, when students who agree with her put up stickers around campus saying that "Female is a biological reality", the principal called them "offensive" and said those responsible would be disciplined.

Just how much dissenting views are being stifled on campus was thrown into sharp relief last year when Cambridge University tried to change its policy on freedom of speech to demand that staff "be respectful of the differing opinions of others". Arif Ahmed, a philosophy lecturer, objected, saying that "not all views are equally deserving of respect". He wanted "respect" amended to "tolerate". To have his amendment voted upon, he needed 25 academics' signatures. He struggled to get them, despite approaching more than 100 people. Many said they backed him privately but would not do so publicly: they feared for jobs, promotions and contracts. Eventually, he succeeded, and when votes were cast in late 2020, 86.9% were in favour of changing "respect" to "tolerate".

With hindsight, that may have been the moment when the tide turned against campus silencing. After the Sussex row started to make the headlines Lady Falkner, a cross-bench peer who is head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, an official watchdog, and is married to an academic, wrote a letter to the Times saying that "university is a place where we are exposed to ideas and learn to debate with each other". Students, she says, "do not have a right not to be made uncomfortable. They can't say that because they feel uncomfortable, someone should be fired."

The leadership of Sussex University, too, is finding its voice. In recent days Adam Tickell, its vice-chancellor, wrote to all staff saying that "we cannot and will not tolerate threats to cherished academic freedoms". The stir that provoked alarmed him, he says. "The degree of interest in me speaking out in support of academic freedom...is a concern to me, because it should be no more news than [saying] the Pope is Catholic." Universities might admit the pope's catholicity. They have been less willing to celebrate their own. ■

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Two plus two make four"

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Academic freedom in British universities is under threat

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S TUDY PHILOSOPHY at Sussex University and, in your first year, you may read John Locke. The Enlightenment thinker is celebrated today for his "Letter Concerning Toleration", in which he argued that to compel men "by fire and sword to profess certain doctrines" was not only immoral but pointless: the only true persuasion is the "inward persuasion of the mind".

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16 Oct - Students hold a second, somewhat larger, peaceful protest. 

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16 Oct - Students hold a second, somewhat larger, peaceful protest. 

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Accused of 'quasi military look - black hoodie with assault rifle motif'

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TRA protest @SussexUni open day today. About 100 of them, some in quasi military look - black hoodie with assault rifle motif. Not sure I'd want to send my child there seeing this. #istandwithkathleenstock

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TRA protest @SussexUni open day today. About 100 of them, some in quasi military look - black hoodie with assault rifle motif. Not sure I'd want to send my child there seeing this. #istandwithkathleenstock https://t.co/n7xwDEGrG7

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TRA protest @SussexUni open day today. About 100 of them, some in quasi military look - black hoodie with assault rifle motif. Not sure I'd want to send my child there seeing this. #istandwithkathleenstock pic.twitter.com/n7xwDEGrG7
— ArtistX (@ArtistX75123818) October 16, 2021

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TRA protest @SussexUni open day today. About 100 of them, some in quasi military look - black hoodie with assault rifle motif. Not sure I'd want to send my child there seeing this. #istandwithkathleenstock https://t.co/n7xwDEGrG7

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
TRA protest @SussexUni open day today. About 100 of them, some in quasi military look - black hoodie with assault rifle motif. Not sure I'd want to send my child there seeing this. #istandwithkathleenstock https://t.co/n7xwDEGrG7

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TRA protest @SussexUni open day today. About 100 of them, some in quasi military look - black hoodie with assault rifle motif. Not sure I'd want to send my child there seeing this. #istandwithkathleenstock

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18 Oct - Mumsnet encourages mass reporting of Stock's harassment via the University's anti-abuse tool.

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18 Oct - Mumsnet encourages mass reporting of Stock's harassment via the University's anti-abuse tool.

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Here is a University of Sussex tool for reporting bullying, harrassment etc (anoymously if you wish) reportandsupport.sussex.ac.uk/

It says:
"The University of Sussex is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for every member of its community.
If you or someone else has experienced behaviours such as bullying, harassment, a hate incident, sexual violence, domestic abuse or discrimination, you can let us know using this Report and Support tool"

Also if you believe Kathleen was targeted because she is a lesbian and is a trustee of LGB alliance, homophobia is a criteria here thttps://www.sussex.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/hco/hate-crime/how-to-report-hate-crime/

Reading some stuff on the other side of the fence (I like to keep a balanced view), not sure a claim here will be successful. May be students also claiming bullying and harassment.

Not sure she can claim homophobia - bit of a stretch. She was challenged due to her stated views and signed statements, which is what universities should be able to do - have that debate!

grace.substack.com/p/the-uk-media-has-seriously-bungled

Not sure she can claim homophobia - bit of a stretch

If its perceived as hate based on her sexual orientation that is how the police have to record it. Its only perception that matters when it come to reporting hate incidents

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Report the intimidation of Kathleen Stock

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Here is a University of Sussex tool for reporting bullying, harrassment etc (anoymously if you wish) reportandsupport.sussex.ac.uk/ It says:"The University of Sussex is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for every member of its community.