Statement of Gratitude
Update on Bullying and Harassment Enabled by Bristol University
I have lost my legal case against the University of Bristol. The University was able to successfully argue that they do not owe a duty of care to students who, like me, face intimidation and violent threats from trans activist students and staff. The court found that in the enactment of their internal policies, the University did not act unlawfully.
The judgment, nonetheless, confirms that I was indeed the victim of the “violent, threatening, intimidating behaviour or language” by trans activist students, and that, there was a “failure to respect the right of others to freedom of belief and speech,” (my right to both). In his decision, HHJ Judge Ralton acknowledged that I was threatened with physical violence, and finds that “provocative, offensive and shocking speech is likely to be legally permissible whilst speech threatening physical violence is not.”
Regarding the intimidation I received while at the University of Bristol, HHJ Ralton also stated:
“Generally, it is not for me in this case to pass judgment on the acceptability of the things said and done and whether the line beyond acceptable free speech was crossed but I do observe that the threat or use of violence such as the threat of throwing eggs or a punch obviously crosses that line and amounts to abhorrent and deplorable conduct.”
HHJ Ralton also found that the University took an “excessively long time” to “properly respond to [my] safety concerns”. The University did not accept any of my concerns as genuine before we made it to court. The Local Stage Outcome and their final decision both accused me of not providing any evidence of bullying and harassment. This opened the possibility that I had made up everything you now know. For years, I have carried the stigma of being branded a liar. I am therefore pleased that HHJ Ralton has found that, despite the way the University treated me internally, once we all made it to court and with the glare of the media on my legal case, “the Defendant appears to have accepted [my complaints] as genuine”. While I have known the truth all along, I cannot emphasise enough how at peace I feel knowing that this dark cloud that has hung over my head every day, is now gone.
It took a tremendous amount of tenacity and determination to bring this case to trial, but I felt resolute that the public must be made aware that this is how academic institutions are treating students like me when nobody is watching. This resolve remains unwavering. When I was at my lowest and the pressure from the University was most intense, they offered me money to leave my PhD programme and not bring a claim forward. I wonder how many women have been silenced and their mistreatment gone unacknowledged.
I did not deserve years of abuse for daring to chair a feminist meeting or for defending sex-based feminism. Nobody does. No student should ever have to incur a psychiatric injury over violent and threatening behaviour by their colleagues, and the byzantine policies and procedures of academic institutions that are meant to protect everyone equally.
Indeed, the Judge confirmed that he was “persuaded that the Claimant was not carefully informed and guided about the processes that would be undertaken to progress her complaint(s) and the information and guidance that were provided were delivered in somewhat piecemeal fashion.” He also said that “the Defendant did not set out properly to the Claimant its strategy of resolving the complaint and somewhat left the Claimant ‘in the lurch’” and that my “complaints could have been progressed in a much better fashion”.
I want to apologise to the public, particularly to my donors, for failing to achieve our desired outcome. My lawyers and I did our best under challenging circumstances and impossible timelines, but ultimately the Judge did not agree with our interpretation of the fact at hand. I am grateful to my barrister Alice de Coverley, and Amara Ahmad and Peter Daly who acted as my solicitors. I could not ask for a more principled legal team, and I trust they did their best despite the sustained obstacles that we faced throughout this litigation.
The most difficult aspect of this process has been doing this on my own, while my family is thousands of miles away from me. I took a principled position that would be challenging for all of us, but they rallied around me regardless. I want to thank my entire family whose unwavering love and care has given me the emotional stability and psychological fortitude to remain grounded and optimistic throughout this difficult period.
Thank you to the Centre for Gender and Violence Research. Particularly, my supervisors Dr Emma Williamson, Dr Natasha Mulvihill and Dr Marianne Hester for their steadfast solidarity, understanding and continued faith in me and in my academic potential.
Thank you to all of my supporters and everyone who has sent messages of kindness and encouragement. This includes women’s rights organisations, old friends I had lost touch with, fellow students, professors and university staff members, and countless members of the public who have reached out online or while walking down the streets to express their solidarity.
Character is forged through adversity. While this outcome was unexpected, there is no regret, no anger and no sadness within my heart about this. Standing up to bullies and the academic institutions that protect them will always be the right decision. Moreover, there is a very big world out there full of hardship, unfairness but also full of hope. I have a very long life and career ahead of me. There will be increasingly higher-stakes victories and setbacks awaiting me along the way, and I look forward to meeting my future head on.
Being funded by the public, this legal case belongs to all of you. But today, there is one thing that truly belongs only to me. And that is a deep sense of pride, respect, and admiration for the woman I have become over the course of these very difficult years. The risk to me is not over: I have lost my case, and I may now have to meet the University’s legal costs. To risk the loss of my academic dreams, financial ruin and reputational damage is a frightening prospect for anyone, and especially at my age. But I am glad that when the moment of truth came, I took these risks in order to do the right thing and object to injustice.
Best wishes,
Raquel