Sara Morrison vs Belfast Film Festival

[NorthernIrishFeminist]

Employers seem to be slow learners when it comes to women's rights! There’s another employment tribunal case being brought by a woman who attended and took the microphone at a Let Women Speak event in Belfast last year and has been treated very badly by her employer Belfast Film Festival as a result.

Looks like we’re going to have to keep gardening until they get the message.

disclaimer. I don’t know Sara and have no connection to BFF I’m just a woman who likes donating to causes that make a difference

We’re here at Tribunal waiting to be let in. Start time expected to be 10.30.

Sara is so strong & so much support in the room.

Nick Wallis getting ready to go.

.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxrpxwlkx7o

BBC NI account of yesterday's proceedings

You phrased it much better than me, Marie 😊

Honestly, his argument towards her feels like he'd love to get out the ducking stool for this unbecoming and unwomanly behaviour that might upset someone.

https://x.com/nickwallis/status/1988188476635045985?s=46&t=VOq5vP7NkcwfyVGLEBNjEQ

Day 2 Session 1 tweets. Sorry I’m not able to do the live text pasting because I’m working 🙏

I found this bit of the BBC report useful, it focuses my general 'Snot faaaaiiir!' feelings about how Sara was treated into something specific - that her employer aligned themselves with the people who were harassing her and denying her right to her opinions. This would make continuing to work for that employer very difficult & undermining on a daily basis:
The BFF also confirmed it was investigating the matter in a social media post, in reply to an LGBT organisation, adding: "We want to reassure you that the Belfast Film Festival passionately supports your values. We will celebrate and defend them."
In her claim, Ms Morrison says she viewed the BFF as aligning itself to those who had harassed her, which was detrimental to her receiving fair and impartial treatment

1. I like this pic of Naomi's team arriving. The wax jackets and being in single file make them look like a SWAT team. https://x.com/nickwallis/status/1988193154252812350?s=20

2. Sounds like Sara had a rough time this morning under cross examination by Sean Doherty, leaving the court suddenly in tears at one point. At the same time, she's coming across as bolshy and defiant in her replies. (I am following Nick Wallis' tweets online, am not in room.)

3. Surprised to see Mark Cousins on the witness list. He's a board member of BFF. Sadly doesn't as if like he'll be a character witness for Sara - but who knows.

Love the photo.
I know a lot of women who dress like that, and they are not to be messed with!

I don't think she's coming across as bolshy via the live tweets. I think she is answering the questions sensibly. Liars tend to elaborate and go into unnecessary detail and she is very clear and consistent in her answers. He is trying to lead her into admitting things that would undermine her case, that's his job, and she is just demonstrating with some strength I would say that she is not going to be scolded, which is the tone of his questions, for her way of thinking about this where the others are presumed to be 'inclusive'. I mean it is ridiculous they wouldn't allow her to take a representative to the meeting with her. We all know that unions are so captured they wouldn't have supported her so unjust and quite right that she didn't attend. He's trying to make out the investigation would have been a reasonable process if it weren't for her, that's his job, but she is batting him off very well it seems to me.

It is interesting that she reprimanded women's organisations for not standing for women in her talk and that the board think it more important to 'keep them sweet' as they work with them. There are many contexts where that approach would be problematic, is all their money 'clean' in the way so much activitism hopes it is. Many women would feel excluded if they worked with women's rape crisis centres who would not protect women only services, for example. It is a clearly a one way direction of thought.

Agree - they seem to be holding her to a civil service level of conduct/impartiality but it's highly selective. Had she been protesting against Posie Parker that day and tweeting about it, nobody in her networks or workplace would have batted an eye. Because inclusivity.

Day one tweets from Nick here: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1987908432339566705.html

Apologies as I didn't realise this case was on.

Day 2 tweets here:

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1988247254319223065.html

If Darlington finishes today, I'll try and paste tomorrow.

I might try both but TT is tweeting very rapidly today.

Wrong thread

Reading SM’s responses it is sometimes frustrating that she agrees with the position SC is putting forward so often which is that on the surface it seems managers were treating her with care and trying to find ways of dealing with the issues but I’m what is also coming across is clear guidance from NC not to be combative and defensive or to presume better how to do things. Keep your powder dry in fact and shes doing that well. That last email was a doozy and proves they had taken a position even while pretending not to have and that the job of covering up their real intentions was what was really going on so SM can agree with all the surfaces appearance leaving NC to pick apart the reality. They were planning to sack her for gross misconduct - even though they had engineered her not working with certain groups rather than her refusing too — and so she was right to be anxious about that and how loaded any investigation might be. It’s clear board et al have convinced themselves that they did everything right without once checking their own biases and presumptions.!

Wrong thread again. See Darlington.

I can live paste Nick Wallis' tweets tomorrow as Darlington nurses has finished.

If that's OK, I don't want to tread on anyone's toes.

Just caught up, thank you!

Day 2 was in three sessions.

Day 2 Session 1
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1988188476635045985.html

Day 2 Session 2 here

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1988188476635045985.html

Day 2 Session 3 here (my original Day 2 post)

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1988247254319223065.html

just caught up too. Thanks for the copy and pasting.

Thanks for the thread. I love that Sara’s feisty.

Hello everyone

@MyrtleLion you’re a Queen among women for all the work you’re doing.

Today was the second day of Sara’s evidence (there was about 20 mins yesterday). Sean Doherty the barrister did the best he could with a not great case.

Today was his best shot and it’s over.

I think the BFF position is that - we followed process, didn’t do anything too scary and it was your fault you resigned.

I’ve had a look at the bundle and it’s clear that the board wanted Sara shut down & shut out. There are three board members and the CEO in the Tribunal.

What is totally fantastical is that at the time Sara was the only employee of the organization. So when they tweeted we will investigate - it was sure as heck only going to be an investigation into her.

There is evidence in the bundle that shows the board were entirely captured and thought the trans rights crew were measured in their witch hunt of Sara, they felt it was reasonable under the circumstances.

With that background it’s hard to see how Sara would have ever experienced a fair process or treatment in that organization.

She’s been living on so little and isolated in a small sector. Her long term work prospects have been damaged. She and her family have paid a huge personal cost.

Naomi is up tomorrow - respondents case starts with Michell Devlin.

Michelle Devlin, CEO Belfast Film Festival, pronoun wearer and posted a picture of her in a t-shirt saying stand by your trans while isolating & investigating Sara.

She’s handily scrubbed her twitter account.