Speakers' Corner, September 2017. A group of women gather, waiting to be told where their meeting venue is. They want to discuss proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act, as is their democratic right. Their original venue cancelled after a barrage of abuse and threats from trans rights activists. Learning from this, the meeting organiser, Venice Allan, has not publicised the exact location, just told people interested in attending to meet at SC.
Nearby a group of trans rights activists, mostly much younger, many of them male, are also gathering. A 60yo woman called Maria MacLachlan, possibly unwisely, wanders over to the TRA group with her phone obviously held out to film them. She is assaulted. It's all captured on other people's phones. In the weeks, months and years that follow she is accused of assaulting a TRA, making their attack self-defence. The video evidence doesn't support this. Common sense doesn't support this. She was a woman over 60 and suffering from osteoporosis, the three (yes, three) assailants were young adult males far taller and stronger than she was. Some people are still asserting this, even though one of the assailants was convicted of assault a few months later. Incredibly, the magistrate told Maria she must refer to her young, strong, obviously male attacker as 'she' and reduced her compensation because she didn't always remember.
I wasn't there but I saw the whole thing unfold on MN and social media. 6 years on, all happening again in relation to the Auckland attack. Idiots alleging that the woman in her 70s who now faces surgery for her injuries (eye socket fracture, I believe) attempting to argue she started it. Scum.
I take some comfort from the fact that many high profile people are now prepared to speak out about this. Back in 2017 this was not the case, horrifyingly.