THREAD - Listen to Joan Smith @polblonde 14' into @BBCWomansHour demolishing the case for introducing Misogyny/Hate Crime legislation, explaining why adding "gender" to the definition of misogyny would be used against women & on why @SadiqKhan sacked her..
bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0…
.as Chair of GLA VAWG Board, and how neither he nor @SophieKLinden have replied to her.
"I very, very rarely agree with Boris Johnson on anything, but on this I think he is right. I mean, what we’ve heard this morning are descriptions of a number of criminal offences....
"..Indecent exposure is against the law, rape is against the law. The laws are there, they are not being implemented by the police, and that is the problem. And to introduce a hate crime of misogyny- , you know, misogyny is hatred and fear of women...
".And to actually define an offence is very, very difficult. And also it’s happening at a time when the whole notion of what a woman is is contested. So I know that people like MP Stella Creasy, who are agitating for this, they want to include transwomen, male-bodied transwomen..
"..in the definition of people who can suffer misogyny. And I’m very clear about this, that misogyny is hatred and fear of natal women, women who are biologically female. And I think what this would do, I think it’s well meant, but it would be a gift to gender extremists..
"..who would attack those of us, feminists, who say that sex is immutable & that there are two sexes. So I think it would take us deeper into a conflict which is a deflection from a really, really important subject, which is what do we do about a police force and a criminal..
".. justice system which is failing women comprehensively.
What Baroness Newlove is describing is misogyny committed by the police. So the argument would then be that they have to report themselves. So what I’m saying is that we actually have to..
"..look at the entire culture of the police and that’s why I want a public inquiry into institutional misogyny in the police, along the lines of the MacPherson inquiry.... It (Hate crime legislation)..
" is actually a sort of sticking plaster solution to a much, much larger problem, which I’ve been observing, I’m afraid, since the 1970s, which is that the police are very bad at spotting perpetrators, because they share a lot of attitudes with them. They share the misogyny"
Thanks Joan! And as was made clear in these tweets from March 2021, even if misogyny is added to hate crime legislation, everyone who is perceived to be a woman is covered, and so simple language using existing legal terminology ie woman and sex, is fully inclusive.
Emma Barnett - "What do you suspect is the reason? (for @SadiqKhan sacking you as Chair)
Joan Smith: "Well, interestingly, I have been raising, all this year, before I was sacked, I was actually calling on the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor to support me in..
"..calling for an inquiry into institutional misogyny in the police. I was asking to have items on the agenda about violence committed by the police, offences committed by the police, and also I was simply asking them to commit to saying that refuges in London, which are..
"..funded by the Mayor, do not have to admit male-bodied transwomen to spaces that are intended for very vulnerable victims. And they won’t answer me on that either..it’s now exactly a year since I first wrote to @MayorofLondon asking him whether he would give me an assurance...
".. that.the refuges would be protected if they used lawful exemptions in the 2010 Equality Act, and he has still not responded...the Mayor is the Police and Crime Commissioner in London and one of his jobs is to challenge the Metropolitan Police and..
"..I think it’s absolutely vital that the Violence Against Women and Girls board is independent."
Emma Barnett - "let’s see if I can get Sadiq Khan to come onto the programme as well, or perhaps Sophie Linden... Joan Smith, thank you very much for your time"
We all thank you too!

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More from @LabWomenDec

12 Oct
This is a new low, even by @ucu standards. We call on @ucu to take action against the branch committee who clearly are unfit for office. In this message they've confirmed their opposition to academic freedom and to representing all members. #IStandWithKathleenStock
We further call on academics at @SussexUni and on @ucu members to condemn this statement. Even if you don't agree with @Docstockk's views, the next ideology that presents itself as unassailable on campus may be less to your taste. Academic freedom matters.
The statement from Sussex's @ucu branch is an authoritarian edict about what academics can and can't say in their teaching and research, dressed up in the clothes of corporate EDI. It has nothing to do with equality - it's misogynistic thought policing. #IStandWithKathleenStock
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9 Oct
Managers @EdinburghUni need to make an unequivocal statement in support of Dr Shereen Benjamin, and put a stop to this attempt to stir up hatred against her. We've long been aware that managers at Edinburgh are enabling a culture of intolerance by their failure to act.
The harassment of feminists at @EdinburghUni has been going on for years. They failed to protect their last Rector, @AnnDHenderson, from a campaign of intimidation. She did her best to help women staff and students, but managers wouldn't listen. womansplaceuk.org/2021/06/09/ann…
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scotsman.com/news/scottish-…
Read 10 tweets
2 Oct
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Image
Outside, steward Ali Ceesay said, "That noise is a perfect example of drowning out women's voices in this debate. I don't have any hate for anyone - we're just here to support women's rights, and every time we try to speak we get harassed". #LWDBrighton
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Andrew Marr: "Is someone who thinks that only women have a cervix welcome in the Labor Party?"
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The question was about WOMEN.
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We will *never* have the respectful, mature debate about trans rights that Starmer claims to want while politicians are unable even to utter the word 'woman'.
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24 Sep
@UKLabour MPs really need to get to grips with a thorough understanding of the Equality Act 2010 and single-sex exemptions @Keir_Starmer. We suggest a starting point would be @EHRC guidance issued July 2018 #SexNotGender #SexMatters
@UKLabour MPs' understanding of EA2010 would benefit from this excellent overview "The single sex and separate sex exceptions in the Equality Act 2010" It explains current misunderstandings re single-sex exemptions wrongly promoted by @stonewalluk as law. sex-matters.org/wp-content/upl…
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Read 5 tweets
22 Sep
@SadiqKhan says "One of the things about the Labour Party is it’s a chance to debate, discuss, have disagreement in a respectful way". That's not reality for those arguing for women's rights in @UKLabour today.
standard.co.uk/news/uk/rosie-…
Respectful discussion must be based on credible, robust evidence. When @SadiqKhan irresponsibly uses discredited statistics on suicide as though they're established fact he's part of the problem - creating a climate where discussion is impossible.
transgendertrend.com/the-suicide-my…
@Womans_Place_UK are still waiting for a response from to their letter (signed by 4k people) asking for an explanation of the removal of @polblonde from her role. How about it, @SadiqKhan @SophieKLinden? Respectful discussion requires engagement.
Read 4 tweets

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