Woman targeted by transactivist wins damages for libel.

[yourhairiswinterfire]

Some good news. I think a few posters here may be familiar with Jean Hatchet on Twitter.

In 2017 she took part in sponsored bike rides to raise money for a domestic violence charity. Each bike ride represented a woman who has been murdered (she did 300 bike rides!).

She was accused by a transactivist of using the raised funds for something other than the charity (a Fair Play For Women advertisement raising awareness of the proposed changes to the GRA)

She took this to court, and has won £45,000 in damages, plus costs.

Judgement: www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2021/1709.html

Jean's Twitter thread: twitter.com/JeanHatchet/status/1409765574494896129

Really pleased to see this. Will hopefully make the people who love throwing malicious accusations and slurs at GC women think twice.

Congratulations Jean!

Great news

Good news for Jean. Well worth pursuing then.

@Horizons83

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.

That makes perfect sense ♥️

Well done Jean, well done

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

@Datun There should indeed be a way to tackle them. I think the tort of harassment would probably come into play. However, I can totally see why someone would not want to go through the stressful experience of going through court for something like this, especially in JKR's case where she does not need the money and the person making the threat probably hasn't got any to give. Save it for when a large organisation, such as a newspaper, makes an error.. get ££££££ damages which she can then donate to charity.

Of course, she could always send on the threats to her local police force, but apparently they are too busy looking at ribbons.

Good news for Jean at last!

She's gone through such a lot that would have broken lesser women, I'm sure.

Well done Jean! Amazing woman.

I’m so pleased to hear this.

Joss Prior has responded today on Twitter, asking whether Jean should thank her. I’m not sure what this person is on about.

So pleased for JH. Great news. It must have been horrendous to have had to go through with whilst also battling health issues.

As for JKR, if she sues it will be against a prominent organisation I should think eg a newspaper etc. She did threaten an educational paper didn't she?

Glad to see women fighting back. Rosa Freedman also calling out intimidation. It's the cost to their personal and mental well-being that worries me.

Great news, well done Jean

Heart-warming news, a well deserved victory for Jean Hatchet. A woman makes massive efforts to rise money for charity, and some TRA sitting on their arse decides to defame her just because they feel like it.

Well done, Jean. Does my heart good to read this, along with Rosa Freedman's angry response, on another thread, to a nasty threatening letter from some young bloke at Essex university -- which recently had to apologise to Rosa.

Brilliant news. I have boundless admiration for Jean, she achieves so much and acts with such dignity and good humour.

a nasty threatening letter from some young bloke at Essex university -- which recently had to apologise to Rosa.

It was a student from her own university (Reading), not Exeter.

As for JKR, if she sues it will be against a prominent organisation I should think eg a newspaper etc. She did threaten an educational paper didn't she?

Yes, The Day, aimed at teens. They were pretty fucking nasty. They apologised and donated to a charity of JKR's choice.

www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jul/23/childrens-news-website-apologises-jk-rowling-trans-tweet-day

"We did not intend to suggest that JK Rowling was transphobic or that she should be boycotted. We accept that our comparisons of JK Rowling to people such as Picasso, who celebrated sexual violence, and Wagner, who was praised by the Nazis for his antisemitic and racist views, were clumsy, offensive and wrong."

@IToldYouIWasCummins

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

I'm not sure she's lost it among the vast majority of people, and it's grown for many. Her healthy figures don't exactly support much by way of financial loss, for sure.

But back to the main subject - Well done Jean. I hope the defendant does have to cough up (what gets paid first? The damages or the legal costs?). The judgment mentions Jean's 'broad shoulders' but this was a horrible thing to have to bear, especially with her health problems. The people who target her are despicable.

Well done Jean.

I must have offended Jean somehow on twitter as she blocked me, I have no idea why. Anyway I'm delighted for her winning this. It's good to see women pushing back and winning against the lies of these TRAs.

Jean

Thanks so much for all the support women of this thread. It means a lot. Don't forget there is now a judgement set as precedent in this ...which is the important thing. If you find yourself being lied about online feel free to use the link to the judgement and ask the poster to remove or apologise by a given date and time. It's here for us all.

www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2021/1709.html

Such good news - thank you Jean for pursuing this.

Well done Jean

Well done, Jean. Excellent news!

The judgment is very clear and easy to read. Very interesting that the court recognises a 'percolation phenomenon' making the defendant liable for a higher level of damages if their libel spreads beyond the original publication.

Great news, sorry that you had to go through this on top of everything else Jean

unherd.com/thepost/will-trans-activists-back-down-after-this-court-verdict/?mc_cid=567f179f0b&mc_eid=aaf91c9122

Worth a read, article by Debbie Hayton. Here's a finish

False accusations can be made in ignorance, but a rapid retraction and apology usually averts legal proceedings before they start. This case has been ongoing since 2018. If trans rights are human rights — and I think they are — then trans responsibilities are also human responsibilities. They include the obligation not to defame others, including women like Hatchet who “won’t wheesht” when their rights are under threat.