EHRC cuts ties with Stonewall.

[Novina]

Has anyone else seen this? From Sex Matters:

sex-matters.org/posts/updates/press-release-equality-and-human-rights-commission-cuts-ties-with-stonewall

This is long overdue and extremely welcome. That an organisation responsible for the enforcement of equality laws should have hooked up for so long with a lobbying group deliberately misinterpreting the law - to press its own agenda - needs an investigation in and of itself. It shows the extent of institutional capture by Stonewall, I hope in particular the government agencies and public bodies paying hundreds of thousands of pounds to an organisation with undue influence over public life act quickly to disentangle themselves also.

The growing pushback will give us something to raise with organisations. I am still waiting for a response from a government department on misstated equalities legislation. I am going to follow up with this, the intervention in the MF case and the Uni of Essex report.

This has huge implications for the Welsh Government, in particular, which just outsources all matters LGB and T to Stonewall Cymru and has completely refused to meet with women's and LGB groups questioning what's going on. According to my Welsh friends, there's evidence that ministers and members aren't getting to see the reports and letters that have been sent. They are being filtered out and binned by all the woke young SPADs who've been trained up by Stonewall. This is Stonewall Democracy in action.

I know friends in the Labour Party in Wales have been trying to get the party and the government to wake up to the fact that they're in bed with a bad 'un, but they won't listen to women. When the shit hits the fan, the Welsh Assembly is going to be covered from head to foot.

I hope now the EHRC has dropped them, everyone else will feel free to do likewise. It's been a protection racket and this is their way out. Allison Bailey's case has really shaken things up. Thank you, Allison. If Stonewall folds before the case what would happen?

This is excellent. Hopefully many many other orgs will look at their membership of Stonewall in the light of the budgetary constraints which surely must be severe throughout the public sector.

This is extremely encouraging news. Budget cuts are the best place to get rid of stuff that doesn’t deliver any value

I am actually happy with the way that they’ve chosen to play it, because, like tibtom upthread, I think that (infuriating as it is), we have to leave a path for people to walk back from their extreme positions. I WANT to say “ha! I told you so!” and have people held to account, but that won’t move us on to actually making sure women’s rights are maintained, because that will end up looking like an extremist position too (it isn’t, of course). I draw the line when it comes to activists who have been responsible for abuse, threats, harming vulnerable people, trying to get people sacked and so on, though. The well of forgiveness runs quite dry, there.

So I’m happy to say “That’s great, EHRC, good decision. Now, moving on, let’s carry on talking about what we do when protected characteristics clash”.

Well played, Baroness Falkner. Interested to see what she does next.

If the previous relationship between EHRC & Stonewall was purely for internal use, why didn't EHRC look at the materials with their ‘external eyes’ and spot the huge discrepancies with the laws they were responsible for upholding?

It's totally absurd to suggest that EHRC could run the two perspectives in parallel. As employers they were just as responsible for adhering to the laws themselves, not just for making by other employers keep to them.

I'm glad they're off the scheme, but I call bullshit on that statement. To echo another poster, I don't like how they've withdrawn quietly. I'd have more respect for them if they announced they were withdrawing due to a conflict of interest, instead of blaming it on budgets.

Hmm. That's a point. Maybe a FOI request to detail all the other memberships they've ended - I wonder if there are any more than Stonewall?..

@Shedbuilder

This has huge implications for the Welsh Government, in particular, which just outsources all matters LGB and T to Stonewall Cymru and has completely refused to meet with women's and LGB groups questioning what's going on. According to my Welsh friends, there's evidence that ministers and members aren't getting to see the reports and letters that have been sent. They are being filtered out and binned by all the woke young SPADs who've been trained up by Stonewall. This is Stonewall Democracy in action.

I know friends in the Labour Party in Wales have been trying to get the party and the government to wake up to the fact that they're in bed with a bad 'un, but they won't listen to women. When the shit hits the fan, the Welsh Assembly is going to be covered from head to foot.

I hope now the EHRC has dropped them, everyone else will feel free to do likewise. It's been a protection racket and this is their way out. Allison Bailey's case has really shaken things up. Thank you, Allison. If Stonewall folds before the case what would happen?

Don't forget the sponsored bodies.

Which sponsored bodies?

Allison Bailey's case has really shaken things up. Thank you, Allison.

Yes, thank you Alison 🙏

Ahem, Allison with two Ls isn't a spelling mistake.

@Shedbuilder

Ahem, Allison with two Ls isn't a spelling mistake.

No, mine is. It's early. Sorry Allison.

That an organisation responsible for the enforcement of equality laws should have hooked up for so long with a lobbying group deliberately misinterpreting the law - to press its own agenda - needs an investigation

I would hazard a guess that EHRC (and others) first hooked up back when Stonewall was "maybe we could try being nice to gay people", rather than when it became "shut up women!".
Remember, they tried to do as much as possible on the quiet, and then pretend it had always been like that.I believe there are still many people, and 'champions', out there who have no idea what is going on.

This is extremely encouraging news. Budget cuts are the best place to get rid of stuff that doesn’t deliver any value

I am actually happy with the way that they’ve chosen to play it, because, like tibtom upthread, I think that (infuriating as it is), we have to leave a path for people to walk back from their extreme positions.

Agreed - the people we need to get SW out of the organisations are the same people/depts/viewpoints who brought SW in.

Therefore a respectable exit for them is required.

Eyes on the prize!

Hopefully - lots more budget cuts to come!

So do we all need to send M&S, Ikea, the banks and the army and every ruddy school in the nation a copy of the Essex report, the EHRC statement and that article from the Daily Mail?

I understand that being a Stonewall Diversity Champ involves hundreds of hours of work for an organisation on top of the fee they have to pay. For many organisations, being able to give this up will be a welcome relief.

I think it's worth considering how patterns of abuse in domestic life are replicated in the political sphere. This podcast examines the issue:

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/resistance-radio-guest-josh-slocum/id723644446?i=1000512945534

"This is not about trans, it's not about feeding impoverished children, it's not about women's rights....what they want is control...obedience...performative obdience....What they want you to do, is for you to ... speak the lie [in front of other people]"

Good. Tear the wall down brick by brick.

Public Inquiry needed.

These people need to be held to account for the systematic attempt to trash women's rights. And we women need to never forget or become complacent. They almost won and we are not safe yet, so keep at it.

Pressed post too soon!
The reason why I say this, is because justice and apologies will never be forthcoming.

Abusive people twist and twist and twist and never come to a sudden realisation that they are wrong.

We will win, and indeed, we are winning. But we will never, ever get an apology.

@rabbitwoman

This feels really significant.

But, along with feeling optimistic, I am also a bit cynical.

It just seems that these institutions are actually finally taking the temperature of public opinion and reacting to that. If we hadn't worked so hard in getting the actual facts out there, supporting Keira Bell, Maya Forstster, Allison Bailey, it would still be creeping in through the back door just like in the US, in Ireland, in Australia.....

And some very brave women (and a few men, like Glinner and James Dreyfus) have paid a very high price.

I do feel this will come to an end, and soon. But most women will never really know just how close we all came to loosing so much. It will go out like it came in, by the back door, sneaking off quietly hoping no-one will notice and the main players will never be held to account.

The likes of Daniel Radcliffe and Emily Watson, Eddie redmayne, all those comedians and broadcasters and writers, they will never be called on to apologise or even examine what they said and why it was so harmful..... It will just fade away, because thankfully the worst will never happen.

I kind of hope there is some sort of reckoning. But I will settle for harm avoided....

I totally agree.

Sex matters are calling for a public enquiry into Stonewall which I would love to see.

Glinner said in his podcast a few weeks ago that this is a monumental fight in which if won, it will basically uphold the stays quo (women having separate spaces by definition of sex). In a few years from now the majority of 'friendly unawares' will have no idea how close this came and what a HUGE war on women this was.

People will just pretend they never thought that TW are actually women. They'll just never talk if it again.

I hope the Mayas, the Allison's and the Keira Bell's in this get the recognition they deserve. On a basic level, I hope James Dreyfus starts being hired for acting roles again and Glinner starts being able to write comedy again that programme makers will actually answer an email or two of his!

Excellent. Things are going in the right direction and it's such a relief.

@Novina

The letter from Bariness Falkner seemed to downplay it as just a budget issue. Hmmm.

As someone who writes statements and press releases like this for public sector bodies, I would say they've come up with the budget issues/responsible use of public funds line as it is likely to be just about palatable to both sides. I would guess, reading between the lines, it's not the whole story. But maybe I'm just being optimistic!

Here's to many 'budget realignments'.

Stonewall just listed this twitter.com/stonewalluk/status/1396374101988569091?s=09

I'm not really sure they want to be highlighting this to all of their followers?

.... I have a dream that Glinner is commissioned to write the film version of The Ickabog, starring James Dreyfus!!!

I REALLY hate the way they co-opt language traditionally associated with sexual matters.

THIS isn't "creepy".... we know what is creepy, and it isn't this.