#DontSubmitToStonewall - suggested quick action by Legal Feminist

[stumbledin]

(From twitter post)

A follow up on the Stonewall long read: this one is a very short call for a simple (2-3 minute) action.

Please share widely. #DontSubmitToStonewall twitter.com/hashtag/DontSubmitToStonewall?src=hashtag_click

Please share and submit a request or two. Whatdotheyknow.com makes it very straightforward. If you don't dare ask your own public authority employer, maybe swap with a friend.

legalfeminist.org.uk/2021/02/04/shining-a-light-on-stonewalls-activities/?_thumbnail_id=451

Naomi now being asked to defend the Stonewall blog by the WESC GRA inquiry: www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/fb12feef-6d41-457a-a102-ea59813bb583

Not sure if the question is a neutral enquiry - probably not. Around 1hr 30mins in.

@MerchedCymru

Stunning work wimbats and allies!

And thanks for collating everything Allmywhat. We're hoping to follow up all the local authorities in Wales and then health boards. And then universities. It goes on and on doesn't it!

Incidentally, the wonderful Naomi from Legal Feminist has just explained to the Women & Equalities Committee GRA inquiry that:
“The law can no more change a person’s sex than King Canute can stem the tide.”

Yep!

Just came to cross post this. I've bumped the previous committee thread with a link to the meeting.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4102035-Women-Equalities-Commitee-live-today-at-2-30?pg=9

If it hasn't been done already, can I suggest you highlight this in the FWR thread for GC university staff? (Sorry, I don't know how to!). There are quite a few of us and some of us will actually be dealing with these FOI requests as they come in.

The points made by Legal Feminist about the legal risks of creating policies using the Stonewall definition of trans (as opposed to the EA 2010 definition) is actually really useful in making the case for not continuing down the Stonewall route.

Is this the thread you mean @littleburn?

New website for GC university staff and students www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4159525-New-website-for-GC-university-staff-and-students

@MaudTheInvincible I hadn't actually seen that one! There's another titled GC academic. I can find it by searching that term but I don't know how to link to it.

Can you post on it to give it a bump, and then I'll be able to see it to put a link on?

Oh, is it this? GC Academic/ Professional Services support thread www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4122834-GC-Academic-Professional-Services-support-thread

Wow! Women are amazing!

@MaudTheInvincible yes, that's it!

I'm an FOI officer, and I hate my job. I hate my job because of shit like this.

Don't get me wrong, I don't stand with Stonewall, but my god do I hate the shit that people ask me. The amount of fucking pages I have to redact.

Alas, I cannot disclose who I work for because we're not allowed to show political affiliation and all that.

I don't forsee you'll get much out of public authorities that is useful but good luck. I could be wrong mind you.

Why don’t you think these requests will be successful Nora?

Sympathies NoraBattyisaGodess Dealing with FOI requests was a nightmare in my last job - also hated them.
BUT - there were a number of occasions when they revealed (sometimes to people's horror) injustices, terrible practice and illegal actions in a local authority and in that sense, they sometimes really had an impact.

@persistentwoman

Sympathies NoraBattyisaGodess Dealing with FOI requests was a nightmare in my last job - also hated them. BUT - there were a number of occasions when they revealed (sometimes to people's horror) injustices, terrible practice and illegal actions in a local authority and in that sense, they sometimes really had an impact.

Totally agree, they can be a tool used for good! I’m just grumbling because you ladies have given me a headache, redacting things out of things on a laptop that won’t work fast enough makes me want to peel my eyeballs.

@WeAreJackieWeaver

I don’t think they will have as great as an impact as perhaps is wished? I’m not sure really, I know there has been a couple of snippets here and there. You may find a lot of authorities signed up but didn’t do anything much after that!

But now I’ve stopped grumbling, I’m watching to see what other authorities respond with. It will be the first time I’ve seen responses to the same request on such a scale. I’ve just got to write my response tomorrow and send it off.

10 more done today, there are definitely still NHS Trusts still to be done and with the magic of copy and paste it's pretty painless!

there are definitely still NHS Trusts still to be done

It has been suggested that the NHS should not be FOId at this time (covid)

I don't think the FOI Officer is going to be massively impacted by covid. Chronic underfunding yes, but covid no. In the Trusts I've worked in operational staff are based far away from the frontline business of hospitals and have little contact (apart from going to the canteen). There's no need at all for any medical staff to be inconvenienced by these questions.

Yeah, don't worry about the NHS. Plenty of time for them to be advertising LGBTQ+++ history month and related activities, I think they can find time for these little FOIs.

Also what really gets my goat is that there's two streams of staff - admin (including desk based matrons etc) and clinical frontline. So when a little well-being yoga/meditation session, just 15 mins 9am and 12am daily is advertised to show what caring employers they are - Well there's one group of staff that are totally excluded from activities like these as they are busy looking after patients.

So don't feel guilty about giving them a bit of extra admin.

Also what really gets my goat is that there's two streams of staff - admin (including desk based matrons etc) and clinical frontline. So when a little well-being yoga/meditation session, just 15 mins 9am and 12am daily is advertised to show what caring employers they are - Well there's one group of staff that are totally excluded from activities like these as they are busy looking after patients.

Spot on

Yep I'm NHS and I agree, if back office staff have got time to send emails on being good LGBTQ+ allies suggesting we all introduce ourselves with our pronouns because be kind and who does it hurt (umm, women), they can also find time to answer some FOIs. They won't impact whatsoever on patient-facing staff.

If anyone has time for more FOI requests there a Children's Champion Scheme

www.stonewall.org.uk/cypschampions

Some of the results are coming back in now. It looks like some of the questions may not have been framed optimally, for example, according to Uni of Wolverhampton, there is no application not join the Stonewall schemes, you just pay your money therefore q1 does not apply.

@ItsAllGoingToBeFine

Some of the results are coming back in now. It looks like some of the questions may not have been framed optimally, for example, according to Uni of Wolverhampton, there is no application not join the Stonewall schemes, you just pay your money therefore q1 does not apply.

Nothing to stop another foi

I have just checked on some...

Some err very interesting results.

Anyone guess what was missing from the answers or not done...

Ooh let me guess? Equality Impact assessments?

Bingo...