In a story by Rod Minchin the Independent, in a remarkably balanced report - can’t believe I just said that ( Christian school worker appeals sacking over Facebook posts, 14 March) reports:
A school worker who lost an employment tribunal after claiming she was sacked because of her Christian beliefs is appealing against the ruling.
Kristie Higgs, 46, was dismissed for gross misconduct by Farmor’s School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, in 2019 after sharing Facebook posts criticising plans to teach LGBT …in primary schools.
Mrs Higgs, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, took the school to an employment tribunal arguing she had been unlawfully discriminated against because of her Christian beliefs.
The school had denied dismissing Mrs Higgs because of her religious beliefs and said she was sacked because of the language used in the posts.
In its ruling in 2020, the tribunal concluded that her religion was a “protected characteristic” as defined by the Equality Act.
Employment judge Derek Reed said: “We concluded that not only the dismissal but the entire proceedings taken against Mrs Higgs were motivated by a concern on the part of the school that, by reason of her posts, she would be perceived as holding unacceptable views in relation to gay and trans people – views which in fact she vehemently denied that she did hold.”
Mrs Higgs’ appeal will be heard at the Employment Appeal Tribunal, London, for two days from March 16.
Ahead of the hearing, Mrs Higgs said: “I am relieved that the opportunity to appeal is here. Over four years on I am continuing to fight for justice.
“I shared these posts as a mother who was deeply concerned about the compulsory sex education being forced on my nine-year-old son at a Church of England primary school.
“I have to continue to fight for justice so that no one else has to go through what I have.
“I want parents to have the freedom to bring their children up in line with their Christian beliefs, I want young children to be protected from this harmful ideology.”
The mother-of-two, from Fairford, shared and commented on posts which raised concerns about relationship education at her son’s Church of England primary school.
Students were to learn about the No Outsiders In Our School programme, which is a series of books teaching the Equality Act [ Dusty - oh, really? The Equality Act? Not your additions to it? ] in primary schools.
Mrs Higgs, who was posting on Facebook under her maiden name, shared two posts in October 2018 to around 100 friends.
One of the posts referred to “brainwashing our children” and added: “Children will be taught that all relationships are equally valid and ‘normal’, so that same sex marriage is exactly the same as traditional marriage, and gender is a matter of choice, not biology, so that it’s up to them what sex they are.
“We say again this is a vicious form of totalitarianism aimed at suppressing Christianity and removing it from the public arena.”
An anonymous complaint was made to the school and Mrs Higgs was suspended and later dismissed for gross misconduct following a disciplinary hearing.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “Kristie was dismissed, not for the posts she made, but for a deliberately distorted and unkind interpretation of the content that she linked to.
“Even though her post was private to her family and friends, she is being held responsible for what others might do with it.
“It is clear no actual harm has come to the school’s reputation as a result of her posts, but that she has been sacked as if it had.
“The posts were not even in relation to the secondary school but about the books being read in her son’s primary school.
“We hope and pray for a fair hearing this week and for Kristie to finally receive justice.”
Let’s just break that down! We may disagree with Kristie over same sex marriage and agree with her over the teaching of gender ideology but this was a Facebook post shared with 100 friends. Actually I don’t mind if it was in the local paper! This is a free speech issue.
See Maya Forstater v CGD Europe and Allison Bailey v Garden Court Chambers - in both cases it was confirmed that a belief in gender critical views was a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. We would say, of course, that such a belief is obvious common sense and an expression of reality but, in any event, it is at the very least a protected characteristic.
Best of luck, Kristie.
All thoughts gratefully received.
Women’s Basketball
In a story in the Guardian ( which after the quote below descends into utter woo woo which I won’t burden you with) (Vermont school that boycotted game with trans player banned from tournaments, 13 March), it is reported that:
Mid Vermont Christian School forfeited a game on 21 February in an out-of-state tournament against Long Trail school.
“We withdrew from the tournament because we believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players,” MCVS head of school Vicky Fogg said in a statement obtained by the Guardian. “Allowing biological males to participate in women’s sports sets a bad precedent for the future of women’s sports in general.”
Go, Mid Vermont Christian School.
Gosh, I am getting very (inadvertently) evangelical in this update!! Not bad for an agnostic!
U.S. Supreme Court case
In an opinion piece by Ian Millhiser on Vox News ( A new Supreme Court case could be the most important transgender rights decision ever 14 March), it is reported:
On Thursday, what could be the single most important transgender rights case in American history reached the Supreme Court.
West Virginia v B.P.J asks the Supreme Court to address whether any government discrimination against transgender people is inherently suspect under the Constitution, and thus must be subject to “heightened scrutiny” by the courts. If the Supreme Court reaches this question, it will be the justices’ first decision on whether the Constitution provides broad protection against anti-trans discrimination (although the Court has held that a federal statute prohibits such discrimination by employers).
I am just bringing this to the attention of readers and, at the moment, I know nothing more about this. I will try and find out more but if anyone has info on it please let us know.
Recommendations
I have finally caught up with Kellie-Jay’s event in Brisbane and the great speeches.
I loved : ‘The first rule of Terf Club is you do talk about Terf Club.’ That speaker was my favourite and she sang ‘Women’s rights are human rights’ with her fist in the air :)
Actually I think that Fight Club is a bit of an analogy for our situation with realism and fantasy and a fair smattering of mental health problems. However I can’t say more because I would give away the ending of the film. So I hope that those who have seen it will follow me and those who haven’t …well, you’ll just have to watch it!
I have also watched the Perth rally which was also great ( apart from the annoying - plant? - trans-identifying male in the Let Women Speak audience):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhmhcKpkjVk&t=653s
I have cleared my EDI Jester backlog as well!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t44qbPy2n_A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-q9Nm3aFtY&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d9V0zLsnRc&t=635s
The third one is about the (awful) group, Bold Voices, who I discussed in Update 31.
The Lesbian Project
Andrew Doyle on GB News has interviewed Julie Bindel, co- founder with Martina Navratilova and Kathleen Stock of the Lesbian Project:
https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1635010270958419970
Best of luck to the Lesbian Project.
If you enjoy this update please share with a friend. Until next time, Terven. This isn’t over yet! Please subscribe for free, like and comment.
I must remember not to read the comments when I go on Twitter 🙄🖕🏽#annoyingmentalfreaks.