Woman targeted by transactivist wins damages for libel.

That's got to be unlawful.

Fantastic news, go Jean!

On the other hand, surely all the death threats and rape threats could be tackled?

Excellent news. Thanks for sharing @yourhairiswinterfire

🎉

off, not of.

Datun I agree, I haven't read the Online Harms Bill that is currently going through Parliament fully yet but I would have thought there should be something whereby SM sites are held partly liable for allowing the publication of those posts, in the same way that all other forms of media are.

Twitter are far too slow to act, if they act at all, and they should be held accountable for that the only way to do that would be to hit them financially.

Ciaran Goggins is a real piece of work. IIRC, he's been trolling Jean for a long time because she was vocal about Ched Evans.

www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/15/ched-evans-friend-victim

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2913029/Ched-Evans-s-true-friend-worked-closely-campaign-try-clear-repeatedly-abused-rape-victim-posted-link-website-NAMED-her.html

Re JKR.. I am a lawyer, but not a defamation one, and from memory we had about half a lecture on defamation at law school.

I imagine the reason that JKR, and others, have not submitted any claims for libel (apart from the obvious not wanting the stress of the legal process) is that being called 'transphobic' is a very difficult thing to pin down legally. You would have to prove the statement is false, and given that there is no clear definition of transphobia and it's essentially an opinion it becomes impossible to prove it's a false statement. JKR has had all sorts thrown at her but much of it is abuse, not 'lies' that can easily be disproved.

The difference with these cases is that it's very clear that a false statement has been made... accusations of theft or an affair are very clear and can be disproven.

This Ciaran Goggins?

www.theguardian.com/football/2015/jan/15/ched-evans-friend-victim

jKR is so smart is suspect she’s playing the long game and will eventually regain her reputation.

That’s great news for Jean- well done.

I didn’t know who Shanu Varma is, so I googled it and in the process found that Ciaran Goggins (mentioned in the transcript) has repeated the defamation and additionally doxxed Jean. So that’s lovely. And stupid. Apparently, because she’s a ‘t*rf’ and deserves it, the law doesn’t matter?

A Joss Prior tweet was cited in the judgment when the extent of damages was decided.

Joss is strangely silent on this one, for once...

Instead of targeting the individual misogynists, maybe it should be focused on Twitter itself. For not deleting the posts quick enough, or at all.

Well done to Jean, she is right to make a stand. The judgement was interesting, the fact other ppl repeated a few months later helped jeans case because it suggested 'hidden springs' of the defamation. The judge was also quite good at understanding where Jean's reputation is forged - ie in certain activst circles and on twitter, so the fact thats where the damage was done was important.

I wonder what happens if the person can't pay. How will the costs be met?

I wish there was a quicker, more accessible way of getting redress for defamatory words, and preventing the defamation from rolling on. It's such a big deal to have to go through if you are being lied about, and can completely financially ruin the losing party which is a huge risk.

Really good news.

JKR suing would also provoke a lot of "rich white lady using her money to silence trans people" commentary. She's right to be cautious.

As I've said before, if JKR did sue it would trigger a vast amount of social media abuse repeating the libels. She'd then have to leave so much of it unattended to that the libels would become part of how she is perceived on social media.

I think she'll be holding back until she sees something so far beyond the pale she has to act so long as she could find the right targets: social media users with a large number of followers who could realistically be expected to afford to pay the damages and costs.

Well done, Jean!

Yes, they can 'step of our necks'.

That's bloody marvellous!

I wish JKR would sue. I think she's probably wisely rising above it in order to avoid more much slinging but it would be delightful to see a whole lot of angry TRAs dragged to court to pay for their many and varied libels against her. Pity.

Excellent news, well done Jean, you should never have had to go through this.

This is another brick out of the wall of the TRAs, until recently, untouchable status.

well done Jean.

Hooray for Jean!

That tide just keeps on turning, doesn't it?

Delighted to see this. Jean has done a powerful thing for the memories of these lost women.

Wow that's a proper vindication for Jean Hatchet. Good for her and I hope these bullies identifying as some sort of brave activists realise that if they have to rely on spreading smears and lies to prop up their side, then they aren't going to get away with it.

Excellent news, I doubt Jean will see the money but it sets a precedent. As as people have said surely JKR is due some redress for the horrible abuse and lies she's been subjected to

This case is as simple as it gets in the High Court. The evidence is brief and straightforward, the findings of fact were also straightforward, it's a "judgment in default", there was "no evidence filed by the Defendant", the "Claimant's ... Particulars of Claim" were "unchallenged", and the "hearing proceeded in the absence of the Defendant following a short judgment". It still cost £70,000. That's a massive obstacle for just about everyone.