Raquel Rosario Sanchez

[Signalbox]

I have tried to find a previous thread for Raquel but don't seem to be able to locate it.

Raquel has released an update on her crowd justice page.

Hearing to take place from February 7th to February 14th, 2022...

"Dear everyone,
Hope you are well.
We had a very successful hearing on November 17th. It went on for longer than expected (we ended being with the judge for nearly 3 hours) which felt draining and nerve-wrecking for me but it all generated a positive outcome for us.
Our trial will take place from February 7th to February 14th, 2022. My lawyers reached out to the University countless times so we could collaborate and find dates suitable for all the witnesses, lawyers and parties but they refused to even acknowledge our emails. Having to constantly chase them represented an unnecessary expense for us and, I believe one of the purposes was that, without their dates, my case would be thrown way into the future (the other purpose would be to increase our costs). For example, into September or November 2022. I had truly resigned myself to this eventuality so I was surprised that last week the Court decided the dates for us and a lot sooner than I anticipated.
Most of the University's submission on November 17th related to anonymity and secrecy. They sought orders from the Court to further anonymise their disclosure (which the still haven't provided) and they wanted the judge to order that nobody can access legal documents without making an application to the Court. The judge refused both requests citing the principle of open justice, and reminded the University that the Supreme Court ruled that the public has a right to see justice so no requirement to seal the documents would be made for my case.
You have to wonder why is the University so absolutely paranoid about disclosure and why they are so anxious about the eventuality that the public will get to read Court documents about my case (ie. about the University of Bristol's treatment of me). What is it that they are hiding?
Having caused endless obstructions and delays by not releasing their disclosure, the University told the judge that it would take them too long to do it so they wanted the trial dates (established right at the beginning of the hearing) moved. The judge said, and this was beautiful: "I am not moving the trial dates. There have been enormous delays. Those instructing you must get their act together and get ready for the trial." And then she dropped the mic and left. Just kidding, but you can imagine how happy I felt to finally hear that!
We had to make three separate applications to the Court relating to disclosure problems that we have encountered with the University, and they had one application over something that was resolved prior to Nov 17th. While the Court did not grant us the Unless Order we were seeking, the judge did make a comprehensive order that included our concerns. I am particularly happy that the judge considered that all our applications have been reasonable and were due to the drawn out disclosure issues. Therefore, we were awarded cost for all three of our applications. Meanwhile, the Court did not awarded the the Defendant cost for theirs and told the University to go pay for their own application.
I feel very happy that during our November 17th hearing we finally managed to get the dates for our trial, which has been worrying me for such a long time, and I am also happy that the judge said this case was "an extremely important case."
That being said, February 7th, 2022 is almost here. Less than two months and a half away. That means there is a lot of work to be done (as in, A LOT) in a very short amount of time. The University has been increasing our cost unnecessarily and, while we may recover that after the trial, at the moment we really need to raise enough funds to see this case through. Please, if you can share with your friends, families and colleagues, and spread the word on social media, I would really appreciate it.
As always, I am so grateful to my lawyers for their hard work. Particularly to my barrister, Alice de Coverley, who was on fire on Nov 17th. It has been a challenging couple of months with no end in sight but now everything feels clearer and near. Having a trial so soon feels daunting but I am ready.
Thank you all for your kindness and support throughout.
Best,
Raquel
Ps. I was featured on Woman's Hour on my birthday, where I discussed our case. You can listen to the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour interview with journalist Emma Barnett (35-06 to 51-41) on the BBC website. An acquaintance volunteered a full transcript of the segment so you can also read the interview on this PDF"

"That being said, February 7th, 2022 is almost here. Less than two months and a half away. That means there is a lot of work to be done (as in, A LOT) in a very short amount of time. The University has been increasing our cost unnecessarily and, while we may recover that after the trial, at the moment we really need to raise enough funds to see this case through. Please, if you can share with your friends, families and colleagues, and spread the word on social media, I would really appreciate it."

That is such a great update.

Got paid today, so will be buying a new trowel

Will be delighted to dig for such a hero!

great that she's been awarded costs for the 3 applications

You have to wonder why is the University so absolutely paranoid about disclosure

indeed. what did they want to hide? the judge telling the UNI/defence to get their act together is reassuring

I love this bit...

Having caused endless obstructions and delays by not releasing their disclosure, the University told the judge that it would take them too long to do it so they wanted the trial dates (established right at the beginning of the hearing) moved. The judge said, and this was beautiful: "I am not moving the trial dates. There have been enormous delays. Those instructing you must get their act together and get ready for the trial." And then she dropped the mic and left. Just kidding, but you can imagine how happy I felt to finally hear that!

Link to her Twitter if you want to go gardening.

twitter.com/8rosariosanchez/status/1463611011798339584?s=21

''I am particularly happy that the judge considered that all our applications have been reasonable and were due to the drawn out disclosure issues. Therefore, we were awarded cost for all three of our applications.''

This is full of good news!

What disgusting behaviour from the University

Go, Raquel!

Raquel is such a shero! Off to do some digging

Congratulations Raquel. My daughter applied to Bristol and was offered a place. I told her how disgustingly Raquel had been treated,and it persuaded her to go elsewhere. The ripples resulting from their actions will spread further than they'll ever know.

It's a great update isn't it. Well done that woman. And I'm glad the court aren't falling for Bristol 's shenanigans. It's horrendous how badly they are behaving. If the mishandling of the bullying wasn't bad enough, they have been adding to the mistreatment of raquel all the way through the legal process. Cruel treatment of their own student, and utter contempt for due process. It puts me off that uni no end. When my children come to choose a uni I will have my opinions of them coloured by how they have acted in this whole saga. Bristol is near the bottom.

Yes, I wonder what it is they're hiding. They could easily have made this go away. Instead of which, they are doubling down at a rate of knots. That does not, to me, look like the actions of an organisation with a clear conscience.

I'm so glad that all these intimidatory tactics and miscarriages of justice are now being addressed.

The way Bristol University has mishandled the criminal bullying and intimidation of Raquel is very upsetting.

I think it is made much worse by their obvious attempts to drag out the process. Anyone else wondering if the documents they are so afraid of sharing will mention stalling until her permission to remain in the UK expires?

I hope all the rich foreign parents considering entrusting their children to the care of Bristol University see what has been done to Raquel and decide to choose different universities, ones who take their duty of care towards all students a lot more seriously.

It's a very good interview on Women's Hour. I'm unable to dig a lot but I may be able to find a carrot or two.

A very good point made by Raquel, that Bristol Uni refuse to implement their own policy on bullying and harassment because they themselves are scared of their own trans activists.

I just got a pay rise, and i have a spanking brand new shovel.

The allotment is in need. I believe this is the latest update.

Update on Bullying and Harassment Permitted by Bristol University

Dear everyone,
Happy New Year.

I can see now why the University of Bristol has been so paranoid about providing disclosure. And in a couple of weeks, you will be able to see it as well. While I feel hurt and disappointed, I feel adamant that the public must be made aware that this is how academic institutions are treating feminist students when nobody is watching. I want to let you know that, last Thursday, we held a positive and useful Pre-Trial Hearing in which we were able to secure our in person trial for this matter from 7th-14th January, 2022 at the Bristol County Court.

The University has behaved appallingly all the way through. For example, during our last hearing on November 17th, the judge ordered the University to provide disclosure by December 8th. Towards the end of December, they were still making excuses to avoid doing this (the third court order they were ignoring). They finally provided disclosure on December 23rd, during a period of time when we had previously informed them that all my lawyers would be unavailable. The University dumped over 10,000 pages of disclosure on me at a time when one of my lawyers was on maternity leave, another had COVID and the third one was out of the country on holiday. They choose that date knowing I had to exchange my Witness Statement merely days later. This is the kind of unhelpful behaviour that they have displayed since we launched this case on June 2020. On November 17th, the judge told the Defendant's barrister that "the University has not covered themselves in glory" and then she repeated that statement again, for emphasis. Rather than becoming more sensible, they decided to become increasingly cantankerous.

The one thing the University of Bristol has succeeded so far is in blowing up our budget. They mostly refuse to cooperate with us and oftentimes don't even respond to our emails. Unfortunately, my lawyers have had to go above and beyond to get around the University's intransigence and that has means a lot of increased costs. This past month and a half has been unnecessarily horrible for me, with extreme stress and countless sleepless nights. So you can't imagine how pleased I felt last week when I heard the judge confirm that our trial will take place next month. But right now, I am worried that by blowing up our budget, the University may succeed in denying my access to justice. If all of you donated £5 to £10 pounds (or however much you feel comfortable donating), this concern could be resolved quickly. Please consider pledging once again. I am determined that all of us get a court judgment on this matter and most importantly, that what has happened to me does not happen again to other women in academia.

Best,
Raquel

A new way of destroying justice. Diminish the funds of the opposition. Sanchez should be awarded costs even if she loses her case......that would make public bodies & universities rethink their strategy

Buggers - absolute weasels. Ok getting out my trowel. I hope they lose and lose badly. I hope they get slapped with all fees, fines and disgrace. I hope staff get reprimanded and fired.

I am not a #bekind type of person. I think we have closed the door on that.

They can’t post links on here but a quick search will bring it up.

Slightly off topic but

Over the summer I was receiving emails from collaborative partners at Bristol University with pronouns in the sign off

Was working out how to discuss it at sone point ( should men really emphasis their maleness to women)

But they no longer include them

Grabbed my trowel and did a bit of weeding. Good luck Raquel.

It’s January but am more than happy to do some more digging for this brave young woman.

Thank you, I've donated again to Raquel's case.

It's crazy that this important battle has to be fought by individuals bringing stressful personal court cases supported via donations, but there we go!