The chair of SEEN is being sued.

[PriOn1]

We can’t post Crowdfunder links here, but there is now a Crowdfunder entitled “Chair of SEEN sued for saying 'only women menstruate'by Elspeth Duemmer Wrigley”

Text from website:

Who are you?
I'm Elspeth Duemmer Wrigley. I work for an arms-length body to a government department (part of the Civil Service) and love my job. I'm also gender critical, and chair of a governmental department SEEN (Sex Equality and Equity Network). SEEN represents those who are gender critical in our workplace.
What can you tell us?
The way I describe the case is restrained by my situation. I am writing this in a personal capacity, but am still employed and must comply with my employer's code of conduct and the Nolan Principles of Public Life. This places certain restrictions on me.
I’ve given as much information as I can, but I hope that what I set out below is sufficient to understand what’s going on.
So what happened?
I work for an arms-length body to the main government department. The case has been brought by a claimant who is an employee of another arms-length body. The claimant is taking their own employer, the government department and me to court.
Among other matters, the claimant is suing the government department for allowing our departmental SEEN network to exist (on the basis that the existence of the network has the effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and/or offensive environment for the claimant).
What is the SEEN network?
SEEN (the Sex Equality and Equity Network) is an official cross-governmental staff network. We also have networks in three government departments (including the one being taken to court). SEEN is known as the gender critical network and is the only civil service network that clearly treats sex and sexual orientation as concepts defined in the Equality Act, which should never be conflated with or replaced by ‘gender identity’.

I’ve donated x

I hope she does. I imagine when she pressed publish on the crowd justice fundraiser yesterday she probably felt as sick as a dog. She hopefully went to bed last night with a smile on her face knowing people believed in her.

I never leave a tip on CJ after what they did to Allison Bailey.

That looks like a highly biased survey. I wonder how they selected respondents?

Anyway, not at work today and I’m spring cleaning, so I can check the total after every task. That will add interest to my day.

Over £29,000

@PronounssheRa wow, I wonder how many respondents there were and how widely the survey was circulated.

I suspect they only surveyed members of A:gender, so yes, a highly biased survey

The survey questions and the way they are worded, i think, encouraged a perception of a hostile environment.

I didn't see any follow-up by A:gender to reassure their members or to explain that they need to respect all protected characteristics

£30,000 ☀🌞

Having now had time to read the Times article properly, my mind is boggled at the actions of the claimant.

The letter to which Elspeth was a signatory, states that those who express GC views are “openly and unlawfully bullied and harassed”. The claimant had just proved that that is very much the case, haven’t they?

And for a woman who “celebrate[d] diversity of belief” to be dragged into an Employment Tribunal for daring to have a diverse view - views which she had correctly stated as protected - is just…well, I don’t have the words.

I wonder if the claimant will be named in the ET hearing? Much as I’m sure they think they’re on the righteous high ground, I should imagine the reality of finding that Elspeth is widely supported is going to be rather a shock for them.

SheRa thank you for that - how amusing that a:gender believe that GC networks should exist and they support people’s rights to hold those views; while simultaneously believing that those views create a hostile environment for their members 🤔
It’s almost as confusing as someone believing that TWAW, while not being able to define what a woman is, nevertheless being able to recognise a biological female, and magically determine that she is a “cis” woman - without even talking to her 😱
And pp’s are questioning whether this position should be considered WORIADS…….. imagine!

I dug a little last night and sent the link to a few likely friends.

Very cheering to think of all those small individual donations adding up. I feel like one of many.

…how amusing that a:gender believe that GC networks should exist and they support people’s rights to hold those views; while simultaneously believing that those views create a hostile environment for their members

Still trying to push their ideology (GC views are “harmful” etc etc) while having to accept that they don’t have a legal leg on which to stand. The mental gymnastics of that must give them quite the headache.

Apparently Maya is talking to Nick Ferrari about this soon. And Joanna Cherry has pledged.

It's almost as if being GC is not a minority viewpoint....

£30,370
pledged of £40,000 stretch target from 1223 pledges

1223 pledges. Amazing.

Thank you Elspeth ... I wish you courage and support.

A PP asked about trade union representation for civil servants.

I am a member of SEEN and work for an ALB whose parent body is the Home Office. My union is PCS and they are very much captured by gender ideology, to the extent that they like to propose motions to conference that TWAW etc. and have been openly critical of SEEN in member meetings.

If Elspeth is in a similar position, I assume she is not getting an iota of support from her union reps.

I’ve taken a step back from critiquing gender nonsense on my ALB’s intranet blogposts etc. that have removed the heinous word “woman” from anything to do with menopause, menstruation, pregnancy etc., as I was rounded on and practically strong armed into talking to the LGBTQ+ network so I could have my views ‘corrected’ (I declined this offer).

Even the head of my employer has pronouns in his email signature and writes often about all the allyship work he does in his weekly blogposts.

So I feel very alone where I work, even though I had a glimmer of hope a while back when I gleaned that another member of staff had submitted a similar FOI to mine about the money the org had spent on Stonewall over the years.

I’m sorry that’s happened to you, @eldorado02 , that sounds like a horrendous working environment. My mind is blown at the idea of being virtually frogmarched to the LGBTQ committee for reeducation.

I hope that this case will start to turn the tanker around.

It's a lonely old place, isn't it eldorado? I raised a complaint about a comment that 'woman' is an identity but of course it wasn't upheld. And the EDI person who responded to me has pronouns in their signature. Of course. They have been very rude to SEEN, everything is a massive uphill battle.

I hope so too Otter. I’d also like to see someone take on their union for failing to defend them against being bullied by their employer for their entirely legal beliefs

Edited for poor grammar!

Here's a potentially important case coming up against the University and College Union (UCU) who have been one of the worst

Another tribunal (UCU this time) www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/5002140-another-tribunal-ucu-this-time

Thanks for reminding me of that, I'm on a bit of a pledging run this morning. There goes this month's going out budget...

Going out is so overrated these days anyway! The weather is still bad, it will be so much warmer and sunnier come April/May!

£31,000 And 1251 Pledges