Helen Belcher is the liberal candidate in our constituency and seems to play down the trans angle in all the leafleting (blurry photo even) I’d have had her down as one of the ‘wanting to get on quietly with life, moderate sorts of transwomen’ and I had no idea she was so vocal, that TRA transcript was a surprise.
2018 Home Affairs Select Committee on Hate Crime:
Written evidence submitted by Trans Media Watch (OHC0019)
INTRODUCTION
- We are pleased to make this submission to the Committee’s Inquiry into hate speech.
- Trans Media Watchis a charity registered in 2010 with the express aim of encouraging the British media to report on trans and intersex
issues with accuracy, dignity and respect – three cornerstones we would expect every media organisation to uphold. A representative from the charity (Helen Belcher) gave oral evidence to the Leveson
Inquiry in 2012, and also to the Women and Equalities Select committee’s Inquiry into trans issues in 2015.
- We have been monitoring the British media’s reporting of trans and intersex issues since 2010, and can observe the trends in terms of topics covered and tone used.
- We are aware the Inquiry’s remit is to look at hate crime and the violent consequences of that rather than specifically media coverage of issues. However, we are also aware that the Committee has heard oral evidence from editors of national newspapers and also IPSO, so is obviously covering media coverage. We are concerned that the
Committee should recognise that many marginalised groups in our society suffer from hate crime that is exaggerated by media coverage. (continues)
17. The following section will talk about the redress that trans people have, but the lack of ready redress on these social media platforms frequently means that trans people feel powerless to stop the hate.
18.
Of particular current concern is Mumsnet. Originally set up to be a support group for mothers, the website has expanded to have a variety of “boards”. The feminist activism board seems to have become an area for those opposed to trans rights to organise. 18 out of the latest 26 threads are conversations on trans rights, with a large number of posts alleging variations of “trans women are men”. The feminist chat board also has a number of threads on the “trans agenda”, containing posts such as “I have no hatred for transwomen, I just don't want to be anywhere near humans who were born with a penis”
While concern is current, this does not seem to be a new phenomenon, as a piece published in Vice17 in 2016 reports:
“Are you saying it shouldn't affect us if a man walks in with cock and balls and expects us to just go about our business?" asked one user.
"Where are these studies that prove trans women are more vulnerable to suicide and murder and all the rest of it? I've never seen anything convincing compared to the stark statistics on the female victims of male violence," wrote another.
19. This is despite Justine Roberts (the owner of Mumsnet) saying
“Transphobia is against our guidelines and we delete and ban users who are repeat offenders”
. On 15 April,
Justine was quoted in the Sunday Times alleging that trans activists are pressurising advertisers to remove their adverts from Mumsnet, saying
“What’s worrying to me is the thought-police action around speech and the shutting down of the right to be able to disagree and immediately labelling it as transphobic.” (continues)
27. Many of the hostile posts on social media could be interpreted as hate speech. The use of terms such as “trans identified male” or even “man” rather than “trans woman” aim to tie trans women to an identity that is psychologically harmful in many cases.
Drawing attention to this usually brings the same response as complaints to the press – that one is attempting to suppress free speech.(continues)
32. The current media landscape does nothing to reduce and probably enhances hate expressed to trans and intersex people. This then enables people to feel entitled to use social media for hateful speech, and when challenged claim that their freedom of speech is unfairly being curtailed.
33. Far from being an attempt to garner sympathy, as claimed by some of those opposed to trans rights, suicide is a ghastly, costly and inhumane end result for too many trans people."
Helen Belcher
Trans Media Watch
April 2018
data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/home-affairs-committee/hate-crime-and-its-violent-consequences/written/82105.pdf