Review of Helena Kennedy's Eve Was Shamed

[hackmum]

The lawyer Helena Kennedy has written a new book about the terrible ways in which women are treated by the justice system. Caroline Criado Perez reviewed it for yesterday's Observer:

www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/14/eve-was-shamed-how-british-justice-failing-women-review-helena-kennedy

Criado Perez is very positive about the book except for one point:

'But when it comes to the nuances and complexities of housing trans women in female prisons, her usually fiercely critical eye is strangely absent. Our prison system, she writes, “too often locks up transgender prisoners according to their genitals rather than their chosen gender identity, and often with tragic consequences”, as if these choices are clear-cut. It is perhaps not fair to pull Kennedy up by citing the case of multiple rapist and paedophile Karen White who was housed in a female prison and subsequently sexually assaulted two female inmates, since it was made public after Eve Was Shamed went to print, but this situation was surely foreseeable. In 2014, convicted rapist Jessica Hambrook was jailed for sexually assaulting two women in Canadian refuges, having gained access by claiming to be a trans woman. Both Hambrook and White were housed according to their gender identity rather than their genitals – can Kennedy really claim that this was inarguably the right choice and that there are no competing rights at stake here?'

Interesting, both because Kennedy has clearly suspended her normally clear critical thinking, and because the Observer allowed Criado Perez to point this out.

I agree with Criado Perez about this - it's the intellectually flabbiest part of the book but Kennedy is cleaving to it based on her more recent interviews where she certainly does know better in the light of Karen White etc.

I read this book years ago. Are you sure it's new? Or rather has she updated it?

Previous book was Eve Was Framed

Someone on here said they wrote to HK on the trans issue and got a rubbish reply back.

Yes interesting that the Observer allowed this to be left in.

Thank you. I suggested a few weeks ago that Helena Kennedy, author of Eve was framed, should be a leading light in the fight and was directed to an article where she talks about representing transwomen and having a lot of sympathy for them.

So one of those whose feminism only goes so far.

I'm disappointed, but also confused. Why is someone who has long been a passionate advocate for women's rights in the justice system, and is also an admirably clear, cogent thinker, advocating something that will profoundly harm women and is completely nonsensical? Just why?

Because she once represented a transwoman who'd been raped (as I read it, the transwoman had had surgery) and badly damaged. The police refused to do anything about it once they realised they were dealing with a transperson and prosecuted 'her' for wasting police time.

Which is all appalling, and which I hope would never happen now, but I was struck that it was something that happened to a man and that the perpetrators were other men. Why women's rights should have to be compromised because of an issue with male violence I don't know.

I'm going to a talk with her and Caroline Lucas on Thursday. Any questions for the Q&A?

Any questions for the Q&A?

The UN says women prisoners should not be incarcerated with males. Do you believe this right should ever be violated based on a male’s beliefs about their gender identity? If so should the women be given a choice based on their beliefs?

'Should victims of sexual and other violence be forced, under pain of being held in contempt of court, to use their attackers' preferred pronouns when giving evidence even though this might add to the trauma of giving evidence and provide a new opportunity for the attacker to exert power over them?'

Caroline Lucas on Thursday. Any questions for the Q&A?

Was does Caroline Lucas think of her part in this whole prison fiasco?

She lobbied for Tara Hudson which led to a cascade of changes which is why we're now in the mess we are with prisons.

medium.com/@helensaxby1/whos-been-bullying-our-prisons-d310d2546dd

Absolutely Redkeyboard those questions about prisons and beliefs need asking.

This talk given by Julian Norman at the recent House of Lords meeting discusses the difference between Article 8 that kicked off GRA reform and Article 9, which is about freedom of belief.

"As the trans umbrella opens ever wider, protecting those beneath from the acid rain of gender expectations, it is worth considering whether the better way to accommodate within a human rights framework the issues in play is within the context of Article 9 (freedom of belief), rather than exclusively Article 8 (private and family life).

Many people believe that they have an innate gender identity, fixed and immutable, and that a person is a man or a woman depending on that person’s self-perception rather than on their biological sex. Many others believe equally firmly that they do not have such an innate gender identity, pointing to the temporal and cultural variations in gender, indicating that social projections of gender are neither innate nor immutable.

Freedom of belief extends beyond the right to religious practice and incorporates the right to hold and to express deeply held beliefs. The European Court has described it as “one of the most vital elements” for those it affects, and commented that “the pluralism indissociable from a democratic society, which has been dearly won over the centuries, depends on it.” A belief (or disbelief) in an innate gender identity would in my view certainly fall within the protected category of deeply held beliefs."

womansplaceuk.org/julian-norman-in-house-of-lords/

My question would be 'Why are unprovable beliefs (based on feelings) being given precedence over biological facts and safeguarding concerns?' (As currently seen in women's prisons, shelters, sports and AWS)

Any update on the meeting? Did you get a chance to ask questions?

Sorry, only just seen this! Unfortunately, it was kind of a bust. Caroline Lucas was double booked and so left before the Q&A. Helena took some questions, but they seemed to cut the session about half an hour short, so I didn't have a chance to ask anything. Most annoyingly, nobody asked anything worth asking!