Hard-left academics ‘plotted gender ID witch-hunt’ on colleagues

Sadly this doesn't surprise me. I'm an academic and the UCU has long been absolutely dire on this issue. Any heretics have zero chance of union support.

Dreadful about that ethics application. Unfortunately if she does whistle blow it will be pretty obvious it was her. Definitely keep records. But with no union backing and plenty of hostile TRAs about it's incredibly difficult.

I agree. If no one is designated as whistle blowing lead, a non exec on the board is a good bet.
unfortunately, when issues of a regulatory or ethical nature blow up, those who knew are in the firing line - whether they were bullied or not. If you’re in a senior position you take the rap. When bad stuff happens you’re expected to speak out.

A friend told me recently that she was bullied into approving an ethics application for a student who wants to do trans identity research with primary school children with no parental consent involved…

This is horrendous. I think your friend should look up the university's whistle-blowing policy. There should be someone at the governance level (i.e. removed from the day-to-day running of the university, and probably a lay member of the governing body) who is designated as the recipient of whistle-blowing concerns and who can deal with them on an anonymous basis.

I'm sure your friend has put her concerns in writing and is keeping them. That'll protect her to some extent if there are subsequent complaints. But this is very serious because it involves the safeguarding of children, so as a responsible professional she may well be considered to be in breach of duty if she doesn't see her concerns through.

As you say, this is far from easy, and your friend should be able to go to her union and know that they'll have her back. Not only should they support her, they should negotiate better practices locally to ensure no-one else is put in that position. Beyond infuriating that UCU is more likely to harass than support her.

Kind of an aside, but I am shocked that O'Grady is 38 - I always assumed she must be much younger because of her narrow view of the world,

@MarieIVanArkleStinks I left. It was definitely the right decision.

It’s not even just homophobia and misogyny that are thriving. Racism is rife. Disability discrimination. Apparently EDI is just gender - nothing else matters.

Is there no independent ethics or whistleblowers hotline you can take concerns to at all?

Exactly - it's not as easy as people think. The whole university sector is totally captured, and I think it will take the cases of DocStock and Jo Phoenix to start the change. I'm the main earner in my family so I can't be openly GC at work. I've spoken to Senior Leadership several times in confidence about the worse situations (people being blacklisted due to their GC views) and it's gone nowhere so I don't have faith they would protect me or my job

It sounds to me like universities need to maintain independent whistleblower functions, as US companies and their subsids subject to SOX have to do.
all matters raised to be investigated by independent lawyers/auditors.

Because whistleblowers are not treated well. She was the one who raised objections within the ethics process. If she takes this outside the institution, the people who are able to bully her out of her job - and the sector! - will know it was her and she’ll be increasingly vulnerable. She (and I) know what happens to people who try to object to anything in this university.

She’s not a Professor with an international reputation to rebuild a career upon. She is the main earner for her family. The personal stakes matter here. It really isn’t that simple.

If the school permits it you can complain to the department for education. Copy to the Secretary of State.

£140000 a year for leadership of this organisation apparently.
wow.

As per PPs, I don't understand why your friend can't alert Safe Schools or similar. There must be access to the protocol and the catchment area.

If the friend is waiting for the parents to find out and protest, the friend will attract opprobrium anyway.

This is the trump approach. Any fact I don’t like is a lie.

Sadly, the ethics board at the university is useless. She was one of the reviewers. The bullying was the process of ensuring that this research gets to go ahead without asking for parental consent.

She’s raised her objections. But there’s only so far you can rock this particular institutional boat without finding yourself bullied out.

THen the friend in question needs to make a disclosure to a relevant ethics board to alert them to this.

I don’t think there is an end game or a plan at all. It’s more like religious zeal and an evangelical mission. With exactly the levels of critical thought and moral certainty that implies.

This shit is chilling. I don’t understand what the end game is. Does anyone know?

I think they’re going to try to pull that education system sleight of hand whereby they claim no consent beyond the HT is required because it’s ‘just PSHE’. 😩

I’ll have a think about that.

It’s just terrible. The idea that a school can decide to enlist your child in any research project without additional consent is deeply problematic. That’s the case whatever the research is about. But it’s even more important when it’s about the teaching or exploration of highly contested social and personal issues.

The lack of sctutiny for research involving children in any area that touches trans is deeply worrying.

She could also whistle blow to the school (or whistle blow about the school?) who tbh shouldn't be allowing research without consent.

@SudocremOnEverything I fully appreciate that. Extremely difficult situation.

I wonder if either of you could disclose this anonymously to an org such as safe schools alliance U.K. or sex matters?

I think, in general, we all read differently now. Everyone is more selective and exposure to things you don’t agree with it which might challenge your thinking is more limited. Even when you do come across these things, it’s usually in a context that can structure your engagement with it so as to facilitate dismissal rather than any possibility of new thinking.

There’s so much material. So much specialism - even early on. So many groups. People just don’t have to sit and genuinely consider the merits of fields or arguments they don’t want to.

Sadly, I’d be concerned with getting my friend in to trouble by naming the university. The university management is awful (at all levels) and UCU are worse than useless too.

This is the problem. She’s tried to challenge it and made her position clear. But there’s nothing she can do and causing too much trouble puts her job at risk.

She said she’s just waiting for the parents (who aren’t even being given the opportunity for assent!) to hear about it via the children and complain. It’s absolutely unacceptable but they’ll find HTs who’ll allow this. Even though it’s shockingly unacceptable.

So when asked a question about your opinion, you resort to ad hominem ('echo chamber') and essentially 'cancel' Mumsnet? That's exactly what the current student body do, so I guess you fit right in!