News and Updates

April 24, 2020, 8:57 a.m.

Women Uniting Call On The Government: Protect Our Sex-Based Rights

We are very pleased to sign this letter to Liz Truss, Minister for Women and Equalities together with other women's groups organising from across all political parties and none.

April 24, 2020, 8:03 a.m.

Men's sexual rights vs women's sex-based rights 18 April 2020

Sheila Jeffreys' talk argues that transgenderism is a men's sexual rights movement. It is one aspect of the phenomenon that has been taking place since the so-called sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, of establishing men’s sexual freedom, their freedom to exercise the male sex right. Full PDF copy of Sheila's talk and link to video on YouTube available.

April 15, 2020, 7:30 p.m.

FiLiA Statement on the Indefinite Postponement of the Reform of the GRA 2004

In March 2020, news outlets reported on the UK government’s plan to indefinitely postpone the proposed reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004. Although a public consultation on the matter closed in Autumn 2018, the government has yet to produce a report on it. The consultation received more than 100,000 responses after women’s rights campaigners raised concerns regarding the clashes between sex-based rights, which are currently protected under the Equality Act 2010, and the policy ramifications of “sex self-identification”. According to government officials, the reforms which aimed to streamline the process which currently allows people to change their sex in legal documents, are now considered to be “divisive” and do not expect any changes to be enacted.

April 15, 2020, 8:58 a.m.

An Epidemic of Misinformation: Murder Rates and the Transgender Population

According to the Human Rights Campaign, 26 transgender or “gender non-conforming” people were killed in the United States during 2018. Transgender rights activists say the murder of trans-identified people is a growing problem in the US. But does this rhetoric really stand up to scrutiny?

April 15, 2020, 8:54 a.m.

The Knobjective Worldview

UK journalist Jo Bartosch investigates how the male-dominated technology industry helps create the conformist online sphere that silences feminists and discourages open discussion of transgender issues.

March 29, 2020, 8:47 a.m.

Title IX turns 45 today. Its impact goes beyond women playing sports.

As Title IX celebrates its 45th anniversary, one impact of the law is clear: Millions more girls now grow up playing sports, a reality that seemed impossible in the early 20th century. But the law encompasses much more than providing equal athletic opportunities for girls and women. Title IX touches every aspect of the educational system in ways that are not always apparent to the law's target population: students.

March 22, 2020, 9:03 p.m.

How the new EU gender strategy fails east-central European women

The alarmingly rapid spread of the coronavirus has exposed the depth of the care crisis in Europe. As more and more countries shut their schools and nurseries, someone will have to take care of the children—and it is advised that this should not be the grandparents, as they face higher risks if they contract the virus. Elderly people’s need for special protection demonstrates what feminists have long highlighted: Europe is struggling with eldercare infrastructure, at home and institutionally, and in both settings women carry out the lion’s share of the work.

March 4, 2020, 3:22 a.m.

Women must have the right to organise

In February 1988, a group of lesbians abseiled into the House of Lords to protest against section 28; a few months later, Booan Temple disrupted the Six O’Clock News for the same cause. Margaret Thatcher had claimed the promotion of homosexuality was undermining the family, and as Sue Lawley read the news, you could hear Temple’s muffled shouts as Nicholas Witchell held her down. Gay men, gay women and their allies were all on the same side back then, in solidarity against Tory repression. How we identified sexually was not paramount. We all read a lot of queer theory, but, more importantly, we knew that bodies existed in history, in a context, for we were seeing a generation wiped out by Aids. If you lived through that, solidarity took precedence over sexuality.

Feb. 12, 2020, 6:07 p.m.

Transgender student withdraws from Sookmyung Women’s University

A transgender student, the first to gain admission to a women-only university in South Korea, has decided not to attend due to massive opposition from other students, according to media reports Friday. “I withdrew my admission, because of growing fears on voices of opposition,” she told Yonhap News. She also wrote in an online community Friday afternoon, the last day to accept the offer, after withdrawing. “I was scared of the recent situation. I was afraid of the words and actions of those people, who were not allowing me to achieve my hopes, not even the slightest bit,” she said. The 22-year-old transgender woman, who wished to remain anonymous, received an offer of admission from Sookmyung Women’s University’s law department last week, becoming the first transgender student to be admitted to a women-only university in Korea.