Bristol Students’ Union chiefs back down in row after being sued for disciplining its own female-only group over single-sex policy
Feminist student societies can exclude transgender women, university students’ union chiefs have admitted after “landmark” legal action.
Bristol Students’ Union (SU) caused anger by disciplining Women Talk Back (WTB), its own feminist group, for excluding male-born trans women from talks on rape and sexual assault.
The society had hosted women-only meetings at the University of Bristol to discuss male violence and argued that the presence of trans women could make attendees fearful of speaking out. However, a student later complained.
Following an investigation, in Feb 2021 Bristol SU demanded that Raquel Rosario Sanchez, its president, stand down before banning her from leadership posts for two years and ordering an “equality, diversity and inclusion” course for the society.
In response, four members of WTB took legal action, arguing in Bristol County Court papers that Bristol SU had “denied them their rights under the Equality Act, discriminated against the claimants, subjected them to detriments, treated them less favourably, harassed and victimised them”.
Now, Bristol SU has backed down and admitted that “affiliated clubs and societies may lawfully offer single-sex services and be constituted as single-sex associations” under the Equality Act.
In an out-of-court settlement this month, the students’ union confirmed that it “understands that Women Talk Back was seeking to operate in this way” and “WTB could, should they wish to do so, re-apply for affiliation to the Union on that basis”.
Bristol SU’s statement added: “In doing so, WTB would set out in their constitution the Equality Act 2010 definition of ‘women’ being ‘a female of any age’ instead of the byelaws definition.”
This marked an about-turn for Bristol SU chiefs, who had initially told the society that their byelaw definition of women, “all who self-define as women”, meant they “do not allow a group to restrict their membership to cisgender women” so they could not be single-sex.
On Saturday, WTB hailed the “landmark” outcome for setting a legal precedent for universities across the UK which “make it easier for women like us in academia to breathe”.
Ms Rosario Sanchez, who is also a PhD student at the University of Bristol’s Centre for Gender and Violence Research, told The Telegraph: “Trans activists in academia thought we would wither away if only they bullied and intimidated us enough. But we refused to cower, disassemble or quit.
“Through our experience, we’ve inspired the first recognition of single-sex societies as lawful in academia. Our story is about young women using their voice to make positive change that benefits all students, regardless of sex.”
‘A step forward’
The society, which has 73 registered members and has had hundreds more attend its meetings, crowdfunded £52,000 for its legal action.
Elizabeth McGlone, a solicitor at Didlaw who represented WTB, told The Telegraph: “WTB and BSU reached agreement earlier this month with BSU recognising that WTB was seeking to operate as a single-sex service in accordance within the lawful exceptions under the Equality Act 2010.
“BSU has updated its guidance on affiliation and reaffiliation as a result of this case.
“I consider this is a step forward in respect of the protection of single-sex spaces which, in specific circumstances are lawful under the Equality Act 2010, on the basis they are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, such as privacy or prevention of trauma.”
Trans activism in campus
It was the latest clash between gender-critical feminists and Left-wing activists on British campuses.
In 2019, Bristol SU backed proposals to ban visiting speakers who are judged to be “Terfs”, a term regarded as a slur for trans-exclusionary radical feminists.
Last year, The Telegraph revealed how the women-only Swansea University Feminist Society had been “purged by trans activists” for supporting women’s sex-based rights, with its email accounts shut down and members quitting for their safety.
This prompted Toby Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, to warn that “the gradual erasure of feminist societies in Britain’s universities is a national scandal”.
the drip drip effect of trans stories, is really annoying right now. Now im just a cis dude, so im sure trans people are far more fed up with it than me.
Im not expert on this issue, but IF and a big IF some guy is pretending to be trans, to join a feminist group, then let him join? he will soon realise he does not have what it takes to be a woman.
​
Edit: adding to what I said above, a trans woman joining a feminist group, seems to me the most natural thing in the world, why exclude them? Those trans women, are fighting your fight. If anything its the trans women who dont want to be feminists who are the “red flag”
I’m conflicted, because if the subject matter is male violence, then trans women should be allowed to speak about it in the group. They suffer high rates of violence and sexual assault. But at the same time, having cis women have their own group on issues like male violence is important. It’s also important they feel comfortable within that group. As much as we want people to be included in things, sometimes you gotta let folks have their groups even if you don’t agree with exclusions. There’s nothing stopping Trans folk starting their own group. The interesting would be to see how other would react to it.
Other countries are moving forward and accepting self ID for Trans people. We had Spain at Christmas, and Finland last week.
The UK is going to be increasingly left behind and is becoming a less tolerant and more backward place.
The anti-trans crowd is pushing super hard to make excluding transgender people the default position right now it’s really sickening stuff. I’d be very interested to see an opinion poll of the students actually involved in these organisations about how many of them actually want to exclude their transgender peers because I’d be very surprised if it was anything other than a small minority at most.
Also does anybody else feel like this topic is basically the only thing the news talks about these days or is it just me?
What is most curious about this example, is that people are arguing women *should not be allowed choose to meet with others of their sex to discuss issues which relate to their sex*
Including issues like sexual violence.
They don’t want women to have that choice. They must include male people.
Why is this the ‘progressive’ position? Seems pretty backwards to me.
I fully support trans inclusion but why is this news every day now? It’s pathetic that all these rag newspapers keep dragging it up. Trans people just want to live normal lives, let them breathe.
Okay, if it’s legal to exclude people then go for it. I think it’s wrong but if you think that’s best go on and do it.
But if no one comes or your funding gets dropped or you get some pushback then don’t cry that you’re the hard done by one. Because you aren’t. And especially don’t whinge if you find yourself next on the excluded list from your group.
This issue likely effects less people than can be counted on your fingers. Our country is in utter meltdown, why do people care about these issues so much? I’m not saying people shouldn’t care, but it’s weird how much airtime it gets.
Who’s checking?
I mean, couldn’t a trans woman just attend anyway. If they are presenting as a woman, who’s to judge or even question them?
As usual all of the arguments regarding this are cherry picking to justify your existing prejudices.
If the society wouldn’t exclude lesbians from attending alongside women who had previously been molested by lesbians, then arguments about ‘banning trans women in case women who had been assaulted by men felt uncomfortable’ fall to pieces immediately.
Establish a purity test and it quickly becomes a slippery slope. Why does it have to be an affiliated society in the first place anyway? If a group of female friends really want to meet and have no trans people present definitively, nothing is stopping them!
This is a really weird headline to me, because every feminist society I’ve ever had any contact with has no objection to cis men joining, let alone anybody else.
[removed]
I think the biggest issue is that the language lines between gender and sex are becoming increasingly blurred.
Trans-women (gender) are expecting the same treatment as women (sex).
It would be like an exclusive goth group allowing a punk member.
Gender is not the same as sex and people need stop co-opting words
This whole subject is like sticking your hand into a wasp nest. Not sure if there is any way to satisfy everyone.
The question is whether single sex university societies are legal at all in the UK.
15 comments
**Article text:**
Bristol Students’ Union chiefs back down in row after being sued for disciplining its own female-only group over single-sex policy
Feminist student societies can exclude transgender women, university students’ union chiefs have admitted after “landmark” legal action.
Bristol Students’ Union (SU) caused anger by disciplining Women Talk Back (WTB), its own feminist group, for excluding male-born trans women from talks on rape and sexual assault.
The society had hosted women-only meetings at the University of Bristol to discuss male violence and argued that the presence of trans women could make attendees fearful of speaking out. However, a student later complained.
Following an investigation, in Feb 2021 Bristol SU demanded that Raquel Rosario Sanchez, its president, stand down before banning her from leadership posts for two years and ordering an “equality, diversity and inclusion” course for the society.
In response, four members of WTB took legal action, arguing in Bristol County Court papers that Bristol SU had “denied them their rights under the Equality Act, discriminated against the claimants, subjected them to detriments, treated them less favourably, harassed and victimised them”.
Now, Bristol SU has backed down and admitted that “affiliated clubs and societies may lawfully offer single-sex services and be constituted as single-sex associations” under the Equality Act.
In an out-of-court settlement this month, the students’ union confirmed that it “understands that Women Talk Back was seeking to operate in this way” and “WTB could, should they wish to do so, re-apply for affiliation to the Union on that basis”.
Bristol SU’s statement added: “In doing so, WTB would set out in their constitution the Equality Act 2010 definition of ‘women’ being ‘a female of any age’ instead of the byelaws definition.”
This marked an about-turn for Bristol SU chiefs, who had initially told the society that their byelaw definition of women, “all who self-define as women”, meant they “do not allow a group to restrict their membership to cisgender women” so they could not be single-sex.
On Saturday, WTB hailed the “landmark” outcome for setting a legal precedent for universities across the UK which “make it easier for women like us in academia to breathe”.
Ms Rosario Sanchez, who is also a PhD student at the University of Bristol’s Centre for Gender and Violence Research, told The Telegraph: “Trans activists in academia thought we would wither away if only they bullied and intimidated us enough. But we refused to cower, disassemble or quit.
“Through our experience, we’ve inspired the first recognition of single-sex societies as lawful in academia. Our story is about young women using their voice to make positive change that benefits all students, regardless of sex.”
‘A step forward’
The society, which has 73 registered members and has had hundreds more attend its meetings, crowdfunded £52,000 for its legal action.
Elizabeth McGlone, a solicitor at Didlaw who represented WTB, told The Telegraph: “WTB and BSU reached agreement earlier this month with BSU recognising that WTB was seeking to operate as a single-sex service in accordance within the lawful exceptions under the Equality Act 2010.
“BSU has updated its guidance on affiliation and reaffiliation as a result of this case.
“I consider this is a step forward in respect of the protection of single-sex spaces which, in specific circumstances are lawful under the Equality Act 2010, on the basis they are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, such as privacy or prevention of trauma.”
Trans activism in campus
It was the latest clash between gender-critical feminists and Left-wing activists on British campuses.
In 2019, Bristol SU backed proposals to ban visiting speakers who are judged to be “Terfs”, a term regarded as a slur for trans-exclusionary radical feminists.
Last year, The Telegraph revealed how the women-only Swansea University Feminist Society had been “purged by trans activists” for supporting women’s sex-based rights, with its email accounts shut down and members quitting for their safety.
This prompted Toby Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, to warn that “the gradual erasure of feminist societies in Britain’s universities is a national scandal”.
the drip drip effect of trans stories, is really annoying right now. Now im just a cis dude, so im sure trans people are far more fed up with it than me.
Im not expert on this issue, but IF and a big IF some guy is pretending to be trans, to join a feminist group, then let him join? he will soon realise he does not have what it takes to be a woman.
​
Edit: adding to what I said above, a trans woman joining a feminist group, seems to me the most natural thing in the world, why exclude them? Those trans women, are fighting your fight. If anything its the trans women who dont want to be feminists who are the “red flag”
I’m conflicted, because if the subject matter is male violence, then trans women should be allowed to speak about it in the group. They suffer high rates of violence and sexual assault. But at the same time, having cis women have their own group on issues like male violence is important. It’s also important they feel comfortable within that group. As much as we want people to be included in things, sometimes you gotta let folks have their groups even if you don’t agree with exclusions. There’s nothing stopping Trans folk starting their own group. The interesting would be to see how other would react to it.
Other countries are moving forward and accepting self ID for Trans people. We had Spain at Christmas, and Finland last week.
The UK is going to be increasingly left behind and is becoming a less tolerant and more backward place.
The anti-trans crowd is pushing super hard to make excluding transgender people the default position right now it’s really sickening stuff. I’d be very interested to see an opinion poll of the students actually involved in these organisations about how many of them actually want to exclude their transgender peers because I’d be very surprised if it was anything other than a small minority at most.
Also does anybody else feel like this topic is basically the only thing the news talks about these days or is it just me?
What is most curious about this example, is that people are arguing women *should not be allowed choose to meet with others of their sex to discuss issues which relate to their sex*
Including issues like sexual violence.
They don’t want women to have that choice. They must include male people.
Why is this the ‘progressive’ position? Seems pretty backwards to me.
I fully support trans inclusion but why is this news every day now? It’s pathetic that all these rag newspapers keep dragging it up. Trans people just want to live normal lives, let them breathe.
Okay, if it’s legal to exclude people then go for it. I think it’s wrong but if you think that’s best go on and do it.
But if no one comes or your funding gets dropped or you get some pushback then don’t cry that you’re the hard done by one. Because you aren’t. And especially don’t whinge if you find yourself next on the excluded list from your group.
This issue likely effects less people than can be counted on your fingers. Our country is in utter meltdown, why do people care about these issues so much? I’m not saying people shouldn’t care, but it’s weird how much airtime it gets.
Who’s checking?
I mean, couldn’t a trans woman just attend anyway. If they are presenting as a woman, who’s to judge or even question them?
As usual all of the arguments regarding this are cherry picking to justify your existing prejudices.
If the society wouldn’t exclude lesbians from attending alongside women who had previously been molested by lesbians, then arguments about ‘banning trans women in case women who had been assaulted by men felt uncomfortable’ fall to pieces immediately.
Establish a purity test and it quickly becomes a slippery slope. Why does it have to be an affiliated society in the first place anyway? If a group of female friends really want to meet and have no trans people present definitively, nothing is stopping them!
This is a really weird headline to me, because every feminist society I’ve ever had any contact with has no objection to cis men joining, let alone anybody else.
[removed]
I think the biggest issue is that the language lines between gender and sex are becoming increasingly blurred.
Trans-women (gender) are expecting the same treatment as women (sex).
It would be like an exclusive goth group allowing a punk member.
Gender is not the same as sex and people need stop co-opting words
This whole subject is like sticking your hand into a wasp nest. Not sure if there is any way to satisfy everyone.
The question is whether single sex university societies are legal at all in the UK.