Thread by @fairplaywomen

If a second @Commonswomequ trans inquiry is to be productive & worthwhile it needs to be conducted in a genuine spirit of inquiry & neutrality

Our analysis of the questions asked in the first two oral sessions suggests there is still work to do /1

fairplayforwomen.com/wesc-gra-inqui…

MPs asked gentle, empathetic, sometimes leading questions of the trans witnesses. They expressed sympathy with their position, did not challenge or request evidential back-up for a single claim. That their sympathies lay with trans people & not women was clear from the start /2

Peter Gibson’s questions were based on the premise that the needs of trans community had simply been ignored by the government rather than fairly balanced alongside all stakeholder groups in society /3

At times, they sounded not much like MPs asking questions and a lot like pro-trans activists. This, from Kim Johnson /4

Their sympathy and gratitude ran out rather sharply at this point, with the next set of witnesses. Questions got a lot longer, perhaps because some MPs were stating trans positions more than they were asking questions. /5

Questions were framed by the underlying assumption that women voicing concerns was harmful to the trans community /6

Nicola Richards came back three times to challenge a statement about risks to women, each time dismissing the answers and instead asserting that women’s concerns were having a ‘damaging effect’ on the trans community /7

Repeatedly the MPs asserted that there were difficulties for trans people and asked the women what should be done. They did not ask the trans academics what should be done for women /8

Peter Gibson picked up Professor Sullivan’s point about privileged access by the trans lobby.... but only so he could disagree with her reply /9

Peter Gibson could have elicited some useful information by asking these witnesses the same “ban on conversion therapy” question he’d asked the trans panellists earlier. But no. He asked this: /10

This was not a neutral question asked in the spirit of inquiry. It was a deliberate and public test of ideological purity. Would the women recite the trans mantra or would they instead reveal themselves as the evil witches they really are? /11

Professor Alice Sullivan made an insightful and perhaps the most poignant response of the session.

"Grown ups don't think in slogans" /12

MPs, including party leaders, often call for “more heat less light” in this “toxic debate”. Now is the chance to put words into action. This is their opportunity to facilitate open and honest discussion of the issues.

They must not mess this one up /13

fairplayforwomen.com/wesc-gra-inqui…