A feminist PhD student lost a lawsuit against the university after claiming to be suffering from harassment and bullying from transgender activists.
In February, Raquel Rosario-Sanchez announced that he was suing the University of Bristol after claiming to have received a two-year hatred campaign over his involvement in the feminist campaign group Woman’s Place UK.
She said both mental health and academic performance were compromised as a result of the online attack that began in February 2018. Sanchez, 30, from the Dominican Republic, had her PhD. She studies women and violence at the University of Bristol’s Center for Gender and Violence Studies.
by judgementThe case is whether the university has a duty of care to protect Sanchez from the actions of transrights activists who disagree with her decision to chair a conference of gender-critical feminists, and the university has her. It was related to whether or not he was obliged to pay attention to the complaint and the operation of the disciplinary policy. “
Activists protested the story she had told and named her “Turf.” This is a controversial term meaning an exclusive radical feminist. The acronym TERF was thrown to author JK Rowling after she made what was considered transphobia to her views on gender and gender.
In hearings, I heard that one student, known only as AA, faced disciplinary action on suspicion of harassment. However, disciplinary action was later withdrawn as AA worsened mental health in 2019.
In a social media post, AA wrote: And with each bite, my solid quianeness mass gets denser. … Especially to hit them with turf. Another social media user suggested throwing an egg at the person attending the meeting and slapping the attendee. However, due to the deterioration of AA’s mental health, disciplinary action was withdrawn in the spring of 2019.
Judge Alex Lalton dismissed Sanchez’s allegations, stating that his decision focused on college-controlled complaints rather than gender rights.
“In general, in this case, I do not make a judgment as to whether freedom of speech is acceptable and whether it has crossed boundaries beyond acceptable freedom of speech, but intimidation or violence such as intimidation. Observe the use Throwing eggs and punches clearly crosses that border and is an abominable and sad act, “Lalton said.
“The university admits that Rosario Sanchez was a victim of unacceptable behavior, especially in the form of the threat of AA violence, but recognized Rosario Sanchez as unacceptable. Obviously, it may be acceptable in the form of freedom of speech, such as the use of the acronym terf.
The judge added that Sanchez was “not carefully informed and instructed” about the disciplinary action and that the information was provided “in a somewhat fragmentary manner.”
“MS. Rosario Sanchez’s complaint may have gone better, which is already recognized by the university, but there is no evidence of the university staff’s malicious intent towards Rosario Sanchez, and Rosario Sanchez. There is no evidence to support the inference of the strategy of closing rather than AA, “Lalton said.
A spokeswoman for the University of Bristol said: We are pleased that the judge has acknowledged this and dismissed all claims made against us, but admits that this was a very difficult time for all involved. “
“I’ve known the truth for a long time, but I can’t fully emphasize how reassuring I feel when I know that the dark clouds that hang on my head every day are gone,” Sanchez said.
“I didn’t deserve years of threats to dare to chair a feminist conference or defend sexual feminism,” she adds. I did.
PA Media contributed to this report.
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Owen Evans is a UK-based journalist who covers stories from a wide range of countries with a particular interest in civil liberties and free speech.