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!

Well done to you, @Jeanhatchet, for sticking with this to the end, and helping out so many others on the sharp and shitty end of the social media lying stick.

I wonder why no defence was offered at all.

I'm very pleased for her - and what it means for all of us - though she is obviously a person of such high integrity that the accusation was always ludicrous.

I wonder why no defence was offered at all.

Probably because the person who posted the lie knew it was a lie and knew that no defence was possible.

Well done Jean and thank you for the legal precedent

The defendant has posted on Twitter numerous times about how wealthy they are. Although photographs of their house would belie that.
So, pleading poverty in relation to the award would be..... strange.

£115,595.40

Suck it up.

Plus the fact that it's just got a lot easier to challenge TRAs when they tell lies about people on social media. Suck that up too.

Lord, when you think of all the lies told about Maya Forstater on Twitter, specifically to trash her reputation and career progression.

And I've seen damaging lies about Keira Bell online. And Allison Bailey.

Actually this is just really sinking in.

Great news! I saw this on Twitter this morning and it brightened my day!

Righteous anger against misogyny fuels Jean Hatchet’s activis, I do so admire her. 💖

I can see this all ending like the denouement in Lord of the Flies.

A bunch of feral kids immersed in groupthink, whipping each other up into a frenzy and brutally running amok, finally run into the reality of judges/the British naval officers and the consequences, and all start sobbing.

Although I am pleased that the verdict is what it is, I personally think it is a hollow victory if the defendant gets away with not paying up over £100k+ in damages and costs. That is an awful lot of money for pretty much everyone in the country.

So I shall be waiting to hear if or when the pay-up happens.

Excellent news and thank you Jean for your ongoing support and remembrance for those women who die, still, at the hands of natal males.

Would they not have attachment orders against their bank accounts/properties/salaries/joint assets in perpetuity(?)

If they don't/won't pay then I think you have to apply for the Judgement to be enforced (don't quote me IANAL) and then it goes into attachment orders, etc.

Amazing news. Well done for fighting back Jean!

It is so heartening to know that these abusive bullies aren't getting away with it anymore.

I really don't know about enforcement. I presume there's a set process in Eng & Wales. PP's talk of attachment orders and forced sale of property sounds realistic, though.

This is serious shit territory, a whole lot more significant than the pop culture meme of 'escalating it to the High Court' and then avuncular Paul and Steve turn up from Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away and wander off with some loose cash and an old car 'in settlement'.

To think it could probably have been resolved early on by a deletion, apology and donation to a charity ...

Btw, does Twitter not have any liability for hosting these defamatory lies? Have they ever been sued?

@RoyalCorgi

I wonder why no defence was offered at all.

Probably because the person who posted the lie knew it was a lie and knew that no defence was possible.

And also they probably realised doing so would only massively increase the costs which would be awarded against them - their own lawyers as well.