Trans rights activists will protest a talk by a controversial women’s rights group later today.
Woman’s Place UK (WPUK) have advertised their talk as a discussion on the current “maternity crisis” exploring themes including “the importance of sex-based language and feminist analysis”.
Protesters fear the purpose of the event is to discredit the language trans people choose for themselves in a medical setting, particularly regarding pregnancy and birth.
One anonymous protester said: ‘What’s wrong with training medical professionals to ask their transgender patients what terms they prefer for their own bodies? Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect during pregnancy and childbirth.
‘Woman’s Place UK’s assertion that the use of gender-neutral language in a medical setting “erases women” is completely false. If a pregnant trans man wants to be called parent or father instead of mother, he should have that right.’
Read: Students Disrupt Controversial Speaker With Noisy Protest
The talk, titled “A Woman’s Place is With Women: Feminism, Birth and Motherhood” is co-hosted by WPUK and With Woman. It is scheduled to start at 7pm tonight (May 3).
Protesters will meet outside the Wills Memorial Building from 6pm.
The talk is to be chaired by Raquel Rosario Sanchez, a PhD candidate at the University of Bristol and a prominent figure within WPUK.
Last month, Sanchez lost a court case against the University of Bristol in which she alleged that the university allowed her to be bullied because of her involvement with WPUK and her beliefs on trans people.
Sanchez’s claim against the University for negligence, breach of contract and sex discrimination was dismissed by a judge at Bristol Civil and Family Justice Centre on the grounds that the University had not failed in its duty of care.
According to their website, WPUK’s stated mission is to ensure that women’s voices are heard in all areas of public life and that women’s rights are upheld in law and policy. They go on to state that they are against all forms of discrimination.
Responding to the protest, Kiri Tunks of WPUK said: ‘We are aware of a planned protest of our meeting tonight in Bristol. We support the right of peaceful protest, but not to intimidate. We expect the rights of all to be upheld, including the rights of women to meet to discuss feminism, birth and motherhood.’
