Law and the gender war

‘Misgender’ is a term now widely defined in dictionaries of note (Cambridge, Collins and Oxford); and last October the publishers of Cambridge Dictionary redefined ‘woman’ to include ‘trans women’. They have acquiesced to the lie.

I’ve had several chats with other Christians about whether it’s disrespectful to ‘misgender’ someone. Is it perpetuating a lie? Or is it loving to refer to someone by their preferred pronouns? That’s a question of personal conscience – but if someone (a Christian, for the purposes of this article) doesn’t feel able to comply with the person’s preferences – they may risk facing legal consequences.

Such is the force of the cult of gender ideology that if you dare to misgender a person at work, you could lose your job.

As far as the criminal law is concerned, the act of misgendering someone is not an offence, despite repeated calls among trans activists for it to be made a hate crime. That said, charges could still be brought under public order legislation, as street preacher David McConnell discovered.

McConnell won his appeal in March against conviction for causing harassment, alarm, or distress under S4A Public Order Act 1986 after misgendering a 19-year-old trans woman. On appeal, the court found no evidence that he intentionally caused distress. The recorder made clear: ‘It is not an offence to insult someone.’

Our educational establishments take a less tolerant approach (as one teacher recently said: ‘We are absolutely walking on eggshells’). Even so, a school is not entitled to react in any way it chooses where an allegation is made about a staff member. Schools, businesses and other organisations can place reasonable and proportionate restrictions on workers, but dismissal must be a proportionate and reasonable response to misconduct.

Maths teacher Joshua Sutcliffe has recently been banned from teaching for at least two years after (among other things) misgendering a pupil, failing to treat the pupil with dignity and respect. He is appealing.

Bear in mind that the rights of individuals are rarely absolute. We have, for example, the right to freedom of religious expression – but this is a qualified right. Staff members do not always have the right to express their religious or other philosophical beliefs however they choose.

Joshua Sutcliffe’s case illustrates this well: one of several allegations was that he encouraged pupils to watch his own YouTube channel which contained ‘inappropriate content’. His content included criticisms of the prophet Muhammed, and Biblical teaching on homosexuality.

The Teaching Regulation Authority rejected the allegation. Sutcliffe had made and uploaded the videos in his own time and they were unrelated to his work. Nor – crucially – had he shown it to pupils or encouraged pupils to watch it. The panel considered one particular video but did not find it incited hatred, violence or discrimination. Sutcliffe had exercised his Article 10 rights to freedom of expression.

Sadly, reports continue to emerge of teachers being disciplined for failing to comply with instructions from schools not to misgender trans children.

But there may be a glimmer of sanity returning to the classroom: reports this Spring say the Department for Education is to release new guidance this Summer, under which teachers will not be required to use a pupil’s preferred pronouns.

The gender war goes far beyond the issue of misgendering someone. Trans ideology defies fundamental Biblical truths, biological realities and encourages the surgical mutilation of confused children in the name of ‘healthcare’.

The tide may be turning: in June the NHS banned puberty blockers for children and young people ‘with gender incongruence’ in England outside of clinical research. NHS England also said the clinical approach ‘should be mindful that this may be a transient phase, particularly for pre-pubertal children’.

Even more notably, it recognises that a significant proportion of these children and young people ‘experience coexisting mental health, neuro-developmental and/or personal, family or social complexities in their lives’.

The government now needs to rethink plans for a conversion therapy ban which, failing another U-turn, will be trans inclusive. Safeguarding our children should not take second place to dangerous ideology. Our laws should protect from harm, not encourage or facilitate it.

Nicola Laver is former editor of Solicitors Journal and a non-practising solicitor. She is a member of Spring Meadow Baptist Church, Old Hill