The Wizard Of Oz Part 2
Update 353 Schools Advice Special
Welcome to Part 2, dear readers, and the main item is an important advice from a King’s Counsel.
This is another long one!!
Meanwhile, we are sticking with Julie Garland and we’re definitely not in Kansas anymore!! Don’t panic, Toto!
Please keep leading female suggestions coming 😊
Thanks to two wonderful readers for some suggestions which are used below.
Important Schools Advice
A Brighton family have obtained an advice from Karon Monaghan KC concerning Brighton & Hove City Council’s “Trans Inclusion Schools Toolkit”. This Toolkit is used by several other local authorities. Ms Monaghan concludes:
In conclusion, a school that implements the guidance in the Toolkit is very likely to act unlawfully in the respects set out above. Further, the Toolkit encourages and sanctions such unlawful conduct and/or misdirects schools as to their legal obligations and as such and to this extent, it is itself unlawful (R (Bell and another) v Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust [2022] PTSR 544, 53-54).
A little bird has dropped a copy of the 75 page advice in my lap. I reproduce below the ‘introduction and summary’. This is an extremely important piece of advice which, of course, will apply to any school that is pushing or has adopted these kinds of insane policies. Please share this around as widely as you can.
I will be working my way through it and will report further in due course.
Here is the advice
https://content.doyleclayton.co.uk/hubfs/Advice%20of%20Karon%20Monaghan%20KC.pdf
Here are some news reports on it:
https://www.localgov.co.uk/Toolkit-to-support-gender-questioning-children-unlawful/60201
Here is the Introduction and Summary.
1. Introduction and Summary
1. I am instructed to advise on the lawfulness of the guidance contained in the Brighton and Hove City Council’s (BHCC) “Trans Inclusion Schools Toolkit 2021: A Guide to Supporting Trans Children and Young People in Education Settings” (Toolkit).
2. In this Advice, I have used the terms “trans identified boys” to refer to male children who identify as girls and “trans identified girls” to refer to female children who identify as boys. Language in this area is contested and controversial and some might find these terms objectionable. However, sex is relevant and significant for the purposes of the matters covered in this Advice, and using these terms ensures that the sex of a child and / or children can be readily identified. Given the complexity of many of the matters addressed below, clarity is particularly important.
3. In summary, I advise that:
3.1. The Toolkit does not explain the Equality Act 2010 (EqA), and what it does and does not allow, and its impact on decisions in relation to trans inclusion.
3.2. The Toolkit does not explain the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) and the Convention rights, and the human rights’ implications of decisions on trans inclusion.
3.3. The Toolkit barely addresses the position of girls and boys who do not identify as trans and the impact upon them of trans inclusion.
3.4. The Toolkit does not address the position of pupils and members of staff who hold particular religious or philosophical beliefs, including “gender critical beliefs”.
3.5. The Toolkit gives a misleading account of the law on single sex spaces, in particular,
a. It contains guidance indicating that a trans identified pupil has the right to choose to use single sex facilities designated for use by pupils of the opposite sex. This is incorrect as a matter of law.
b. It contains guidance indicating that a trans identified pupil may use toilets designated for use by pupils of the opposite sex. This is incorrect as a matter of law.
c. It contains guidance on the use of changing rooms by trans identified pupils which is misleading in law since it takes no account of the possibility of indirect sex and religion and belief discrimination, and harassment, under the EqA against pupils using changing rooms designated for members of their own sex.
d. It contains guidance on the use of changing rooms by trans identified pupils which is misleading in law since it takes no account of the possibility of a breach of Articles 8 and 9 and Article 2, Protocol No.1 and Article 14, in the case of pupils using changing rooms designated for members of their own sex.
e. It contains guidance on the use of communal accommodation by trans identified pupils which is misleading in law since it takes no account of the possibility of indirect sex and religion and belief discrimination, and harassment, under the EqA against pupils using changing rooms designated for members of their own sex.
f. It contains guidance on the use communal accommodation by trans identified pupils which is misleading in law since it takes no account of the possibility of a breach of the Articles 8 and 9 and Article 2, Protocol No.1 and Article 14 in the case of pupils using changing rooms designated for members of their own sex.
g. It takes no account of the strong likelihood that allowing a pubertal or post-pubescent trans identified boy to use girls’ changing rooms and communal accommodation will violate the girls’ rights under the EqA and the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA).
3.6. The Toolkit gives a misleading account of the law on freedom of belief and expression. In particular,
a. It contains guidance on the use of pronouns which is misleading in law since it takes no account of the possibility of indirect religion and belief discrimination under the EqA, and under Articles 9 and 10 and Article 2, Protocol No.1 and Article 14, HRA.
b. It contains guidance on the contents of Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education lessons (most boys have a penis and testicles, and most girls have a vulva and vagina) which is misleading in law since it takes no account of the possibility of indirect religion and belief discrimination and the impact on freedom of speech, under the EqA and under Articles 9 and 10 and Article 2, Protocol No.1 and Article 14, HRA.
c. It takes no account of the possibility that a requirement to follow the guidance on the use of pronouns will violate the rights of those who hold gender critical philosophical, or similar religious, beliefs, under the EqA and under the EqA and under Articles 9 and 10 and Article 2, Protocol No.1 and Article 14, HRA.
d. It takes no account of the likelihood that a requirement to follow the guidance on RSE and health education lessons (most boys have a penis and testicles, and most girls have a vulva and vagina) will violate the rights of those who hold gender critical philosophical, or similar religious, beliefs under the EqA and the HRA.
3.7. The Toolkit gives a misleading account of the law on participation in sports. In particular, a. It contains a misleading account of the law in so far as it indicates that excluding trans identified boys from girls’ sports competitions would be discriminatory.
b. It does not take account of s.195, EqA.
c. It does not take account of the likelihood that not having sex-based categories for gender-affected sporting competitions will indirectly discriminate against girls in breach of the EqA.
3.8. The Toolkit gives a misleading account of the law on participation in RSE and health education lessons. In particular,
a. It contains guidance that there must be a clear need for single sex groups if they are to be permitted under the EqA. This is incorrect as a matter of law.
b. It contains guidance indicating that trans identified pupils have the right to access single sex groups for pupils of the opposite sex. This is incorrect as a matter of law.
c. It contains guidance on trans identified pupils joining RSE and health education classes which is misleading in law since it takes no account of Article 8, and Article 14 read with Article 8, HRA.
d. It contains guidance on trans identified pupils joining RSE and health education classes which is misleading in law since it takes no account of indirect religion and belief discrimination under the EqA and under Article 9 andArticle 2, Protocol No.1 and Article 14, HRA.
e. It takes no account of the likelihood that permitting trans identified pupils of the opposite sex into single-sex RSE and health education classes, will breach the EqA and violate the rights under Article 8, 9, Article 2, Protocol No. 1 and Article 14 read with Articles 8, 9 and Article 2, Protocol No. 1 of the other pupils in the class.
3.9. The Toolkit’s guidance on trans inclusion and the Public Sector Equality Duty is inadequate.
3.10. The Toolkit’s guidance on the safeguarding duty is inadequate, with the risk that schools will fail to properly discharge their safeguarding duty in respect of all children, including trans identified children.
Please let me know if you have any queries. As I say, I will get back to you further once I have studied this long piece of advice, which I have only just received, in detail.
Rapid Onset Terfing
I lay claim to inventing this term 😊 ( https://dustymasterson.substack.com/p/rapid-onset-terfing?utm_source=publication-search) albeit it derives from Lisa Littman’s famous phrase Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria.
This is almost unbelievable but appears to be bona fide. Thanks to Feminist Legal Clinic. The video is long so you will need to set aside some time but it’s certainly worth a watch. “We’re the people, not the animals.”
FURRY INFESTATION: Middle School Students Walk Out in Protest After School Leaders Allow “Furries” to Terrorize Them – They BITE, SCRATCH, BARK, CHEW ON STICKS, HAVE A KITTY LITTER BOX in Bathroom (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Jim Hoft (18 April)
Middle school students at Mt. Nebo School in Payson Utah held a walk out protest today against unhinged school officials that allow “furries’ to terrorize them at school.
The students report in the video below that the “furries” bite, scratch, and bark at them. The furries also chew on sticks in class and a kitty litter box was set up in the girls restroom for them to use.
In the video by LifeIsDriving the children also note that they are required to keep a distance from “furries,” whereas the same rule does not apply for the “furries.”
The protesting youth believe that the school’s tolerance stems from the principal, whose child happens to be a “furry.”
This is insane. The children are the adults here.
The Cass Review
The waves are still breaking on the shore!!
Sex Matters in their latest excellent Memo newsletter bring us up to date with Scotland and Wales. Great news from Scotland!!
Scotland and Wales respond to Cass (19 April)
On Thursday news emerged that NHS Scotland’s Sandyford Clinic is stopping new prescriptions of puberty blockers. This was welcome news, although the Scottish government’s response to the Cass Review has so far been dismissive, with First Minister Hamza Yousef saying it was for clinicians to decide what to prescribe.
Conservative MSP Meghan Gallacher, who has been pressing for answers, told The Telegraph: “Every one of my requests has been rejected or ignored.”
Labour’s Jackie Baillie MSP said: “The findings of the Cass Review must be implemented in Scotland”, and called for an urgent statement from the Scottish government. She said that she was pleased to see the pause on puberty blockers in Scotland.
The Welsh government has said it is committed to improving the treatment pathway for gender-distressed young people in Wales. However, it has not yet made any commitment to concrete action to ensure these improvements, and says that the Welsh Gender Service will be outside the scope of the review NHS England will be undertaking of adult services.
Together with Merched Cymru, WRN Wales, Transgender Trend and LGB Alliance, Sex Matters has written to Baroness Morgan, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in the Welsh Government.
BBC Scotland indicate that the Sandyford are also pausing the prescribing of cross sex hormones:
Mary McCool ( Scotland's under-18s gender clinic pauses puberty blockers 18 April) reports:
Scotland's NHS has paused prescribing puberty blockers to children referred by its specialist gender clinic.
The Sandyford clinic in Glasgow also said new patients aged 16 or 17 would no longer receive other hormone treatments until they were 18.
It follows a landmark review of gender services for under-18s in England.
The full piece is here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-68844119
Meanwhile this has led the Scottish Greens to throw all their toys out of the pram. Bye bye, Greens!
Craig Paton in The Independent ( Scottish Green LGBT group launch petition on future of Bute House Agreement 18 April) reports:
The LGBT wing of the Scottish Greens has launched a petition questioning the future of the party’s deal with the SNP after the prescription of puberty blockers in Scotland was paused.
The Rainbow Greens launched the push on Thursday following the announcement from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that the prescription of puberty blockers for new patients at its gender services clinic based at the Sandyford Clinic in Glasgow would be paused.
The full article is here:
Excellent piece by Andrew Doyle:
And great interview with Helen Joyce on Gript News:
Welsh Self ID
The Welsh Government are, of course, still off with the Woo! See also above.
Hannah Woodward in GB News ( Gender equality plans could allow self ID-ing trans women to be part of female quotas - alarm raised April) reports:
The Welsh Government has been warned that their election gender equality plans could be unlawful.
Welsh Labour ministers have plans to ensure all political parties submit an equal gender balance of candidates. Therefore by law political parties may need at least half of their candidates to be women.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has warned the proposals could lead to self ID which could breach the 2010 Equality Act.
The EHRC says the proposals may lead to the inclusion of quotas based on a person's self-identified gender as opposed to their legal sex.
Vaughan Gething, the new Labour Leader © GB News
The UK watchdog wrote to the Senedd Reform Committee saying the Bill may be inconsistent with the 2010 Equality Act.
“We are concerned that the Bill appears to base eligibility for inclusion on the quota list, on candidates declarations on whether they’re a woman or not, and this in conjunction with the term ‘gender’ may be insufficiently clear.
“In short it may lead to the inclusion of quotas based on a person's self-identified gender as opposed to their legal sex".
The full article is here:
Irish Hate Crime Bill
Following events in Scotland, the Irish Bill seemed to be waving about in the breeze somewhat though the Tánaiste ( the deputy prime minister) seems to be doubling down. What’s the weather like on your planet, Mr Martin?
Ben Scallan in Gript News ( MARTIN SAYS HE DOES NOT SUPPORT SCRAPPING HATE SPEECH BILL 15 April) reports:
Tánaiste Micheál Martin will not be calling for the hate speech bill to be “jettisoned completely,” claiming that this would be a “knee-jerk u-turn”.
The Fianna Fáil leader was speaking during an interview on RTÉ’s The Week In Politics programme on Sunday, during which the government’s controversial hate speech bill was raised.
Martin said he accepted that “legitimate questions” had been raised regarding freedom of speech in the context of the bill – questions that needed “to be clarified without question” – but he added that the government would be using the 1989 Incitement to Hatred Act as a “base and a frame from which to work.”
“I’m not going to go into a knee-jerk u-turn and say ‘We’re going to jettison it completely’ or any of that – because this is something that people had supported early on,” he said.
“Legitimate questions have been raised, I accept that, and I think that’s what parliament is for – to go through those.”
During the interview, it was put to the Tánaiste that some of his Fianna Fáil TDs, such as Willie O’Dea and Jim O’Callaghan, along with Seanad leader Lisa Chambers, had been critical of the legislation, urging significant amendments. Specifically, they had called for the word ‘hatred’ to be defined within the bill, and asked for a precise definition of protected gender characteristics to be added.
Currently the legislation criminalises ‘incitement to hatred’, but does not define the term, simply saying that “hatred means hatred”. Similarly, it seeks to protect genders ‘other than those of male and female’, but those other genders are not listed or explained legally.
Asked for his thoughts on whether these terms should be defined, Martin said that Justice Minister Helen McEntee would be “coming back with amendments,” and that he would like to see the bill referred back to the Justice Committee.
He also slammed Sinn Féin for doing a “complete u-turn” on the bill, having previously supported it, and then coming out against it recently, as highlighted recently by Gript.
Dusty - I think this is called ‘doing a Wes Streeting’? 😂
“I see other political parties have done a complete u-turn,” he said.
“Sinn Féin supported this legislation at one stage – they actually wanted to strengthen it, in terms of migrants being covered as well. And then they come out with a 180 degree u-turn and say ‘Now we’re totally against it.’”
Defending the bill, he went on to add that it had received popular support at one point.
“I’m conscious that in the House people supported this legislation, and spoke favourably about the idea of hate crime legislation,” he said.
Notably, the hate speech bill ended up passing in the Dáil last April by a landslide of almost 89%, with 110 TDs voting in favour of the legislation, and only 14 opposing it.
However, in an interview with Gript last week, Fianna Fáil veteran Willie O’Dea said that the hate speech bill was “rushed through the Dáil” and that he “certainly didn’t pay sufficient attention to it.” He said he was “absolutely horrified” when he read through the legislation, and that he now regrets supporting it.
Asked about these comments, Martin criticised O’Dea.
“People need to know what they’re voting for, and people need to examine legislation and raise it well in advance,” he said.
“And my view is we can provide an opportunity for people to look at this again through the Justice Committee, particularly given that the Minister is bringing amendments.”
Women’s Sport
Some good developments here, dear readers. Notice how wide the ripples from Cass are going!
Claire Ellicott Whitehall in The Daily Mail (EXCLUSIVE Ban trans women from female sports, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer tells sporting chiefs in impassioned article for the Mail 16 April) reports:
Transgender athletes should be banned from competing against women, the Culture Secretary told sporting chiefs yesterday.
Lucy Frazer said officials had a duty to give female athletes a 'sporting chance' because male-born rivals have an 'indisputable edge'.
She summoned representatives of sports including cricket and football to a meeting yesterday to urge them to stop transgender athletes competing against women at the elite level.
Her intervention follows a landmark review of NHS gender identity services for children and young people that raised major concerns about the country's approach to transgender issues.
Writing for the Mail, Ms Frazer says sports governing bodies need to set out an 'unambiguous position' on the subject.
The full article is here:
Jeremy Wilson in The Telegraph ( Elite athletes call for biological sex over gender in sport in wide-ranging study 17 April) reports:
A survey of female athletes has found that most want categories by sex at birth rather than gender identification in contact and endurance sports but want more done to include transgender people.
The research, by academics from Swansea University and the Manchester Metropolitan University, which was published in the Journal of Sports Sciences, sought the views of almost 200 athletes from a range of countries.
The respondents were categorised as ‘world class, ‘elite’ or ‘national level’ and found that, while an overall majority (58 per cent) favoured categorisation by natal sex, this rose to more than three quarters (77 per cent) when it came to those athletes deemed to be world class.
The full article is here:
‘Gender Affirming Care’
AP news wire ( Supreme Court allows Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth 15 April) reports:
Supreme Court© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press.
The Supreme Court is allowing Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth while lawsuits over the law proceed, reversing lower courts.
The justices' order Monday allows the state to put in a place a 2023 law that subjects physicians to up to 10 years in prison if they provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under age 18. Under the court’s order, the two transgender teens who sued to challenge the law still will be able to obtain care.
Go, Idaho!!
The full article is here:
JK Rowling
Daniel Sanderson in The Telegraph( JK Rowling: It is baseless and disgusting to claim I am a Holocaust denier April) reports:
JK Rowling JOHN PHILLIPS/GETTY IMAGES© Provided by The Telegraph
JK Rowling has accused transgender rights activists of sinking to “a new low” by making “baseless and disgusting claims” she is a Holocaust denier.
The Harry Potter author issued a statement on Tuesday pointing to her record of supporting the Jewish community and speaking out against anti-Semitism.
It came after Rivkah Brown, an editor at the Left-wing Novara Media news outlet, apologised to Rowling for accusing her of Holocaust denial, an allegation the journalist admitted had been “false and offensive”.
Hundreds of social media users then repeated the claim that Rowling was a Holocaust denier, after speculating that Brown had only retracted her statement because of the threat of legal action.
The false allegation stems from Rowling challenging claims on X, formerly Twitter, that transgender people were a priority target of the Nazis during the Holocaust.
“While I’m used to the gross distraction techniques used by the more extreme faction of trans activism, the claim that I am a Holocaust denier is baseless and disgusting,” Rowling said.
“I have always been a staunch supporter of the Jewish community and have spoken out consistently and repeatedly against anti-Semitism.”
The full article is here:
Libraries
Andrew Levy in The Mail Online ( Library staff brought to book and forced to shut down trans art exhibition after complaints pictures showing surgery scars and a hypodermic needle for injecting testosterone 'encouraged self-harm' 17 April) reports:
Library staff have been ordered to shut down an exhibition of trans art that included a person with mastectomy scars and a hypodermic needle for injecting testosterone after critics said it promoted self-harm.
The controversial exhibition in Norfolk's main library in Norwich was held to mark Transgender Day of Visibility.
Dusty - Day of Risibility more like!
It was organised by Norwich Trans Pride, a collective of transgender artists, and featured work by local artists.
Norfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Billig has now demanded it be closed and issued an apology on Mumsnet after becoming aware of the event.
The move comes after last week's landmark Cass Review report which found trans children had been set on the path to irreversible change despite 'remarkably weak evidence' to support medical treatment.
The full article is here:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13318037/library-trans-art-exhibition-shut-self-harm.html
Scottish Schools
This is why action against schools may be required - see my main item, of course.
Katherine Lawton in The Mail Online ( Scottish primary schools appoint children as 'LGBT champions' and are being encouraged to 'ask pupils if they are gay, lesbian or trans' 18 April) reports:
Scottish primary schools have appointed children as 'LGBT champions' and are being encouraged to ask children as young as four if they are gay, lesbian or transgender.
Schools are setting up LGBT clubs and 'gender and sexual orientation alliance groups' for their students as part of their membership with a scheme run by the charity LGBT Youth Scotland, documents seen by The Telegraph show.
The charity reportedly also encourages head teachers to build gender neutral toilets and mark Transgender Day of Remembrance in the calendar.
As part of the scheme, school staff must be trained by the charity, which provides an online guide and letter templates for children who want to change their gender at school.
Schools that join the scheme are reportedly told to appoint at least two students and two members of staff as 'LGBT champions'. They are also urged to consider a survey of students to ask them if they are 'part of the LBGT community' to find out whether 'bullying affects those pupils proportionally within the school'.
Last week the Cass Review into NHS gender identity services raised concerns that evidence for allowing children to change gender was built on weak foundations.
Dr Hilary Cass
Dr Hilary Cass said allowing 'social transitioning' for young people - treating them as the opposite gender - could 'change their trajectory' and cause them to go down the route of a possibly damaging medical pathway later on in life.
The SNP Government was asked to act on concerns over the encouragement of ideology in classrooms following the revelations of the Cass review.
Miriam Cates, co-chairman of the New Conservatives group of MPs, said: 'We have seen from the Cass Review the appalling results of using children as pawns in adult political battles. Indoctrinating small children with sexualised ideologies is deeply unethical and breaks all established safeguarding principles.'
Chairman of the Tory Common Sense Group, Sir John Hayes, said: 'Those responsible for the outrage of approaching four year olds in this way should be rounded up and charged with child abuse.'
Educational psychologist Carolyn Brown said: 'Children of primary school age are very suggestible and are still at a very early stage of their psychological and emotional development.'
The full article is here:
Endpiece
Bye Bye Rainbow Flag
I am afraid the Rainbow Flag may not be recoverable!!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13310771/interactive-guide-lgbtq-flags-genders.html
Are we dreaming, dear readers?
Dear readers
The two Wizard of Oz seem to be a bit sluggish in progressing along the Yellow Brick Road so I'd appreciate it if you could give them a helping hand 😊
Next update this evening and...surprise, surprise....more on Cass but also Title IX in the States, Kevin Lister update, why you can't trust Labour, update on the Party of Women and....the Grasshopper Mouse 😎
Dusty
It isn't looking quite so good for women's sport in the USA, Dusty: https://womensliberationfront.org/news/new-title-ix-rules-a-dark-week-for-womens-sports