‘Anti-trans’ event with speaker who says raising trans kids is child abuse to allegedly be hosted in the House of Commons
(Photo: Creative Commons)
An ‘anti-trans’ event which will feature a speaker who claimed raising trans kids is ‘child abuse’ will now be hosted in the House of Commons, according to organisers.
The event called ‘Transgenderism’ and the War on Women was originally going to be hosted by Millwall football club at their south London stadium.
However, following a backlash, the club reportedly cancelled their hosting of the event.
The event which has been widely called ‘anti-trans’ and ‘transphobic’ will now be held within the House of Commons, according to organisers.
In an email obtained by PinkNews, the organisers stated the new venue would be an opportunity to lobby their MPs about potential changes to the Gender Recognition Act (GRA).
The email says: “I am excited to announce that our meeting on Wednesday will take place in the House of Commons.
“We would like to use this opportunity to do a mass lobby and are asking all attendees who are concerned about the GRA proposals to lobby their MP.
“We want to use this opportunity to show our concerns about transgenderism to the government and to show them that we are reasonable, serious and passionate about this issue.”
The event was originally to be hosted at Millwall FC (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
However, a parliamentary spokesperson told PinkNews that the House of Commons was unaware of the event.
However, the spokesperson stated that MP’s themselves are allowed to organise events in the House.
The spokesperson said: “We have no knowledge that this event is taking place in the House of Commons. MPs are able to organise external events in Committee Rooms.
“When organising meetings and events Members may invite guests of their choice to attend and it is not for the House Authorities to influence this.
“It is not compulsory for a Member to disclose an invite list to the House in advance of a meeting.”
Last year former Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities Justine Greening announced plans to review the Gender Recognition Act, a 2004 law that allows transgender people to gain legal recognition.
(Chris Jepson)
LGBT advocates had called for the law to be streamlined to reduce the hurdles that transgender people have to jump through to get a Gender Recognition Certificate, adopting a simpler ‘self-declaration’ system that operates in Ireland and other countries across Europe.
However, this review has reportedly been delayed due to a significant backlash from sources including the right-wing press.
A description of the event to be hosted on Wednesday says: “The talks will focus on the origins and nature of ‘transgenderism’ and its implications and consequences for women, lesbians in particular.”
It adds: “The meeting will highlight concerns over the government’s proposed updates for the Gender Recognition Act, which include allowing anyone to self-identify their legal sex, lowering the age of consent for gender reassignment surgery from 18 to 16 years, making ‘misgendering’ a hate crime and conflating the legal definition of sex and gender.”
The potential reforms to the Gender Recognition Act do not include any changes to the law surrounding gender confirmation surgery, nor any hate crime legislation.
Journalist and trans activist Paris Lees recently spoke out about the fears that currently surround the potential reforms, highlighting that the changes will only affect the ability for trans people to change their documents, rather than any of the changes highlighted by events such as these.
On a podcast with Nick Robinson, Lees said: “The Gender Recognition Act is about me being able to change my documentation.
“It doesn’t have any effect on anybody else. It’s about me being able to change my birth certificate and private documentation. It doesn’t have any effect on toilets or changing rooms.”
The event will feature a panel of speakers, including Australian academic Sheila Jeffreys.
Jefferys claimed in a 2013 interview, published on her website, that raising trans children was similar to child abuse.
She said: “I think we might be having to move towards the point where we recognise that parents who encourage this idea in children are involved in a form of child abuse.”
Related: Anti-trans activist posts poll to attack trans women – internet has other ideas
Anne Ruzylo, another panellist, resigned from her local branch of the Labour in East Sussex last year in a bullying row.
She alleged she was subjected to months of harassment by trans rights campaigners, but also faced allegations of transphobic behaviour herself.
(Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
One of the event’s organisers is self-identified radical feminist Venice Allan, who was suspended from the Labour party earlier this year over transphobic memes she posted on social media.
The event was organised last month and faced significant criticism. However, the event appears to be sold out, with organisers warning ticket buyers that some of them may not be able to attend due to the size of the room.
Additional private security will be at the event, according to organisers.
