Joan Smith - Why did Sadiq Khan’s office fire me? Was it for my views on trans women being allowed in refuges?

[ChristinaXYZ]

Interesting article, and Khan and his deputy Sophie Linden don't come out of it well. It is not just their views it is old no-debate chestnut where they make statements like transwomen are women and won't come out and defend their views or consider anyone else's.

unherd.com/2021/08/why-did-sadiq-khans-office-fire-me/?1629483667792

You’d think Labour would be tired of losing to the Conservatives so much but hey, what do I know.

Good articleOP

This is very good, thanks for sharing.

I already had a low opinion of Khan and Labour. It's on the floor now.

Interesting, and so depressing.

I once supported Sadiq Khan. Never again. What a sick joke, pretending to tackle violence against women and girls while trying to force women’s refuges to let males in.

Does anyone think that the awful events in Afghanistan and the effect it will have on women's rights there will leave people like Sadiq and co with egg on their faces when their efforts to erode women's rights in the UK in plain sight garner more media attention?

I can't weigh up the issues on this. Joan Smith of all people. She's someone I really admire. Why would you do anything that might piss her off without buy in?

I know, it’s Joan Smith ffs!

I’ve voted Labour all my adult life and now I just can’t. Can’t vote for anyone else, but my moral compass just won’t let me vote Labour while all this is going on.

As a young woman I used to be contemptuous of the idea that you wouldn’t vote - I used to think you should just suck it up, hold your nose and pick the least worst option. Never imagined that I would be stuck with literally no-one I could vote for contemplating spoiling my ballot

But I will NOT vote Labour.

Haven't really got that far. I'm used to thinking of voting as a dirty business, pick the least bad option etc. But genuinely feel blindsided by this. Joan Smith. I can believe she's not an easy character in a meeting but fucking hell, lots of men are complicated and tricky to deal with and would never be treated like this.

@plodalong12

You’d think Labour would be tired of losing to the Conservatives so much but hey, what do I know.

You'd think!

I would happily vote for Labour if they could get their act together on this issue. However, I'm not too squeamish to vote Conservative (even though I am singularly unimpressed with them - I just don't think Labour would be any better).

@Jasmine11

Does anyone think that the awful events in Afghanistan and the effect it will have on women's rights there will leave people like Sadiq and co with egg on their faces when their efforts to erode women's rights in the UK in plain sight garner more media attention?

Well you'd think so. But the way they carry on one would think that:

1. they don't care

2)they have reason to believe they will get away with eroding women's rights, despite the push back.

The question I ask myself, particularly with point 2, is why. I suspect that they always knew there would be some push back. And that they always planned to continue on this path anyway regardless. This coordinated attack on women's and children's rights and safeguards everywhere is not a coincidence.
The other question worth considering, is what is their end game.

We need to get much much louder and braver. Not just online but in the real world too. There really is no other option.

Beefcurtains79. Yes for some without a doubt, that is their motivation / end game. But I don't think it stops there. This really is something that is moving rapidly from being quite free and liberal into a deeply authoritarian way of life. We only need to look at history, and how other parts of the world live, to see how this could look for us ultimately.

into a deeply authoritarian way of life

@Jorrris Also scared about this. I really don't like the way this is going. I've seen quite a few lesbians online say they are really put off from forming female-only lesbian groups. I really can't get my head around that. We have seriously let them down as a society.

I think I read somewhere (on here?) that the ultimate aim is to lessen the taboo of paedophilia - I don't know if this is correct but we are definitely on a very slippery slope.
Agree with beefcurtain that kink shaming is now judged as 'worse' than anything else. Everyone seems to have swallowed the koolaid.

I've seen quite a few lesbians online say they are really put off from forming female-only lesbian groups

I'm not surprised. You'd never imagine a world where women who wanted to meet only with women would be harassed, abused and threatened. Yet here we are. Under his eye.

This problem isn't simply going to go away. These people in power aren't suddenly going to see sense. This is deliberate. And it will continue. Until the majority stand up and say no. Loudly and publicly. And follow that through with direct action.

I don't get SK at all. God knows, I'm no fan of Boris or of Ken Livingstone, but they have a certain fucked-up charisma - I get why they can convince people to vote for them. Khan is just so bland and..empty. You could replace him with a cardboard cut-out, and it would be months before anyone noticed.

Support services for domestic violence victims very bad in London. It's the worse place to need help. There's one organisation has good website. Outsider looking at it would think there's good help. Reality is they tell you waiting list closed and their website not updated. The waiting list has been apparently closed ever since I first tried to get help several years ago. I suffered more injury since then. The mental injury is even worse. I lost hope completely with Khan just before the last election. He spoke about domestic abuse and how needed to focus on specialised support for black and other minoritised ethnic groups. Agee with him minoritised groups need specialist support but then he said they experience domestic violence differently to white middle class women. I felt despair.

He thinking stereotype like maybe he thinks no physical violence in middle class domestic violence relationship. Maybe he thinks they all have money to leave or maybe he thinks all white women are middle class.

White and middle class women are also murdered, beaten and raped and often economic abuse. They need safe places to go and domestic abuse support. I not middle class don't know. Don't have stereotype working class accent maybe but not middle class massively either. Same accent as Sadiq really and same sort of background parents type of job. Have actually one ethnic minority grandparent but I look white. I still needed help and services in London bad.

Think definitely should be extra support for any minority group if needed for specific extra needs but it felt like khan dismissing the need for white and or middle class women for help cos not a different experience when being beaten and raped and economic abuse. Especially cos existing services not good so definitely needed more funding and better training for staff as well.

Main thing really where support definitely lacks across UK is for disabled victims and also middle aged and older. Please notice number of middle age and older victims murdered just since the coronavirus pandemic. Lots. Harder to get help when disabled or older. Even things like peri or menopause and how it can affect you physically as well as mentally not understood by services cos not trained on it. Things also like if older more important to have dignity and privacy of own safe space not shared facilities. Sorry long post that probably not explaining properly cos can't sleep cos of everything. Can't tell you how hard it is trying and failing to get help. London bad place to need help.