Dear women,
I am stopping by to thank you for your very kind messages. The other claimants on the Women Talk Back! legal case have also been reading your messages on the Mumsnet Board and found them incredibly moving. I told them: "wherever it says my name, know that they mean all of us." You obviously didn't wrote them directly for us, but we've all taken great strength from the support we've received from women, here and elsewhere.
Today marks a year since the start of my trial for #RaquelvBristolUni, which took place from Feb 7th-14th, 20212. As you know, I was unsuccessful in that legal case. In the aftermath, I forgot to share my statement for that outcome here on Mumsnet, so its here, just in case. I haven't been able to read it again, but I am sure it has stood the test of time!
While I am very grateful for your solidarity throughout a period of my life that was so incredibly challenging, please be reassured that I am in a much better place now so no need to worry anymore. At the moment, I am back in the women's sector as a front-line practitioner working with vulnerable women, including some women in prison. I should also be finishing my PhD this year, with my thesis exploring the experiences and direct commentary of men who pay for sex, so the purchasing side of prostitution. My writing career is going very, very well too, which is massively exciting. While I don't have a lot of free time these days, I always make a point to check this board a few times a week to stay updated on everything that's happening... and to learn a ton from the top-notch insights of the women here! But please know that (aside from some unfortunate fatigue and brain-fog that is likely to be long-COVID), I am in a much happier, healthier place both in my personal and in my professional life.
Thank you all for absolutely everything. The moral support, the encouragement and the gardening. I am so pleased I've made you proud with this superb resolution!
Below, I am sharing the statement on the outcome of our Women Talk Back! legal case:
"Statement on the Protection of Single-Sex Services and Spaces
We are delighted that the Bristol SU has made the decision to update their policies to confirm that single-sex services and women-only spaces, like Women Talk Back!, are lawful. In two statements, released on 13 January 2023, the Bristol SU stated:
“In accordance with, and as defined in, the Equality Act 2010, affiliated clubs and societies may lawfully offer single sex services and be constituted as single sex associations, where this is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, in accordance with the exceptions set out in the Equality Act. WTB! could, should they wish to do so, re-apply for affiliation to the Union on that basis. In doing so, WTB! would set out in their constitution the Equality Act 2010 definition of ‘women’ being ‘a female of any age’ instead of the byelaws definition.”
Unfortunately, not all institutions are willing to create or modify their existing policies to explicitly acknowledge that it is lawful to offer single-sex services and spaces. Which is why all remaining litigation funds crowdfunded from the public in our account will be redirected to support Sarah, a survivor of male violence, who is pursuing legal action against Survivors’ Network, the Rape Crisis Centre for Sussex. Sarah is challenging the service for refusing to provide a female-only peer support group for women who experience sexual abuse. We encourage similar organisations to follow the lead of the Bristol SU and recognise that single-sex services, spaces and associations are both lawful and hold a valuable place in society.
While much of the broader debate about sex and “gender identity” can feel abstract, our experience trying to justify and maintain the female-only nature of our feminist society has been anything but. Protecting the single-sex exceptions which we rely upon to operate, in a real-world incident and faced with sudden confrontation, represented a frightening experience which has negatively impacted all of us. This is particularly true for our President Raquel Rosario Sánchez, who was tasked with upholding our right to privacy, safety and dignity in a practical setting.
We are forever grateful to the public for their words of encouragement and for making this case viable through their donations. We are equally grateful to our lawyers, solicitor Elizabeth McGlone from didlaw and barrister Spencer Keen from Old Square Chambers, for their guidance and support throughout this process. Both the public and our lawyers have been instrumental in ensuring that today, the right to single-sex services and women-only associations is upheld at the Bristol SU.
As we look forward, it is heartening to connect with feminists across the UK who are becoming organised, setting their own collectives while holding women-only meetings and public events where they can discuss issues that affect their lives. We feel optimistic that this positive resolution will encourage an environment where it is easier to breathe for women like us in academia. While we wish our time at university had been less contentious and more welcoming of feminists who defend sex-based rights, we feel proud of what we are achieving, both individually and as a collective. As claimants, we want to express that it has been the honour of a lifetime for us to contribute to the long but steadfast defence of single-sex services and spaces for women."