I typed up the conference in case it's handy for anyone who can't listen.
Sandie:
Thank you all for being here today. I would like to start by firstly thanking Neale Hanvey, who signposted me to Sex Matters. I turned to Neale and Sex Matters because my trade union RCN failed me when I needed them most.
Neale and Maya Forstater of SM supported and encourage me at a very dark time, following my suspension. Maya has been an inspiration and without her and her amazing team at Sex Matters, it is unlikely I would be standing here today.
Maya introduced me to my solicitor, Margaret Gribbon, and it is difficult to put into words how grateful I am to have found someone so determined to fight my corner. Margaret assembled an outstanding legal team by instructing Naomi Cunningham lead counsel and Dr Charlotte Elves junior counsel, whose brilliance exposed the grip gender ideology has on Fife health board, and how they treated me when I spoke the truth about sex.
I thank those who have made it possible for me to pursue my legal case with extraordinary generosity. I would also like to thank they many politicians and women's rights campaigners in Scotland who ensured I never felt alone in this battle, including For Women Scotland, Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, Women Won't Wheesht, Women's Rights Network Scotland, and LGB Alliance. As well as the many grassroots campaigners, many of whom attended my trial here in (?missed) to show their support.
I would like to thank everyone who donated to the crowd funder, set up in my name earlier this year which enabled me to make donations to charities very close to my heart. I have been overwhelmed by the messages of support from NHS colleagues, Scottish Ambulance Service, and from women and men here and abroad of all ages who have sent gifts, cards, and supportive messages. I would also like to thank the Darlington nurses and Christian Concern.
I would also like to thank the Scottish media and Tribunal Tweets, for taking such an interest in my case, and for reporting it to the wider public. Special thanks also to Dr Michael Foran, associate professor of law at University of Oxford, for his astute commentary on my case, and the law in this area.
Above all, I would like to thank my family and friends who have been a tower of strength over the past 2 years. My husband Darren, daughters Nicole and Emma and my mum Sheila, who has been my rock. Thank you all so much, and to my extended family and friends, many of whom are here today.
I must not forget Clare Bloom and volunteers of Women Won't Wheesht for helping organise today's event.
I am not a campaigner, and had never heard of the phrase 'gender critical' when I first raised complaints over 2 years ago about my employers decision to allow men into female-only changing rooms. I just knew instinctively that it wasn't right that women were expected to undress in front of men in private spaces, and I still believe this to be the case.
Whilst I am delighted that the tribunal was critical of Fife health board and found they had harassed me, the judgment I believe falls short in many respects and that is certainly why I won't be giving up this legal fight any time soon, and Margaret will tell you all about that.
Finally, I want to pay tribute to my late dad, who we lost in January, and who I know will be looking down on me feeling proud that he, with my mum, raised a daughter who did not, and will not wheesht.
Margaret Gribbon, Sandie's solicitor:
Fife health board unlawfully harassed Sandie Peggie over a lengthy period of time in 2024 in respect of 4 separate matters. This would be inexcusable for any employer, but particularly so in a large public sector body like NHS Fife. Given the tribunal findings that Fife health board committed multiple breaches of the Equality Act and persistently failed to comply with the tribunal order, my client is dismayed and troubled that senior politicians in Scotland saw fit to repeatedly express their full confidence in Fife health board.
Turning now to the tribunal's substantive findings, some of the findings are hugely problematic. For instance, the judgment places responsibility on female employees to raise complaints if they feel uncomfortable about sharing single-sex spaces with men. This ignores industrial realities. When Sandie objected she was suspended, subjected to an unreasonably lengthy disciplinary investigation, and falsely accused of patient care concerns. It emerged during the hearing that Fife health board then embarked on an archaeological dig to find material to discredit her. It was even suggested to Sandie by Fife health board's KC during her cross examination that she'd lied about having experienced a menstrual flood on Christmas Eve 2023. So against that background, it is difficult to envisage what woman would contemplate raising a complaint of this nature. In many workplaces there is a climate of fear around this issue, exacerbated by the failure of many trade unions, like Sandie's, to advocate for female members who seek to protect their hard won rights to single-sex spaces.
The judgment also places employers in the in(can't hear) position of having to make decisions about singe-sex workplace facilities based on the physical appearance of transgender employees and by asking them intrusive questions.
For these reasons and more, I can confirm that the tribunal's judgment will be appealed, and work on this is already underway. I'm also delighted to tell you that the legal team has been further strengthened by the addition of Ben Cooper KC, who will take the lead on the appeal which will be submitted to the Employment Appeal Tribunal next month. Thank you.