 | |
| Abbreviation | TSN |
|---|---|
| Formation | October 2020 [1] |
| Type | Community interest company [2] |
| Purpose | Defence of transgender rights and opposition to organised transphobia |
Region served | United Kingdom |
Key people | Shash Appan |
| Affiliations | Consortium [3] |
| Website | transsafety |
The Trans Safety Network (TSN) is a transgender organisation based in the United Kingdom that aims to document and analyse information on organised anti-transgender movements. [1]
Trans Safety Network was launched in October 2020, in response to what it saw as an increase in anti-transgender campaigns and political lobbying in the United Kingdom. The ultimate impetus for the group's establishment was reports of DVDs on the "transgender agenda" being mailed to schools. TSN determined that they originated from Truth in Science, a Christian creationist organisation. [4]
In November 2021, TSN was incorporated as a Community Interest Company (CIC), whose founding Directors were Shash Appan and Nichola Phoebe Queen. [5]
On 24 June 2023, the group's director, Jess O'Thomson was assaulted and injured while reporting for TSN by far-right demonstrators organised by Turning Point UK at a Drag Queen Story Hour event in Lewisham, with another activist left bloodied. [6]
In May 2022, the TSN investigated misinformation spread by right-wing politicians that the shooter in the Uvalde school shooting in the United States was trans. [7]
In August 2021, the group analysed Tweets directed at Rape Crisis Scotland over its hiring of Mridul Wadhwa as CEO, finding that around half of the thousands of Tweets originated from around 30 accounts. [8] In April 2023, the group publicised restrictions being imposed upon tweets containing LGBT-related keywords on Twitter, including disabling previews. [9] [10]
TSN has been active in criticising the treatment of transgender people by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
In February 2022, TSN was a co-signatory to an open letter calling for a review of the EHRC by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), consignees included: Stonewall, Liberty, the Good Law Project, Mermaids and LGBT Youth Scotland. [11] In 2023, O'Thomson, met Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, who was preparing a report on LGBTQ rights in the UK. [12] TSN opposed a recommendation from the EHRC to amend the Equality Act 2010 to replace rights and protections based on one's legal sex with "biological sex". [13]
In 2022, TSN opposed attempts by the government to exempt gender identity from a proposed ban on conversion therapy. [14] In June 2023, the group accused the Territorial Support Group of having "targeted trans protesters" at a counter-demonstration to a far-right anti-drag demonstration in London. [15]
Stonewall Equality Limited, trading as Stonewall, is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) rights charity in the United Kingdom. It is the largest LGBT rights organisation in Europe.
Leslie Feinberg was an American butch lesbian, transgender activist, communist, and author. Feinberg authored Stone Butch Blues in 1993. Her writing, notably Stone Butch Blues and her pioneering non-fiction book Transgender Warriors (1996), laid the groundwork for much of the terminology and awareness around gender studies and was instrumental in bringing these issues to a more mainstream audience.
The Queer Youth Network (QYN) was a national non-profit-making organisation that was run by and for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) young people and is based in the United Kingdom. It had an aim to represent the needs and views of younger LGBT people by campaigning for greater visibility and equal rights, as well as providing general support and information to those who are just coming out or who are experiencing homophobia.
Matt Walsh is an American conservative political commentator and podcast host. He is the host of The Matt Walsh Show podcast and is a personality with the American conservative website The Daily Wire. He has authored four books and starred in The Daily Wire documentary films What Is a Woman? and Am I Racist?
Marsha P. Johnson was an American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen. Known as an outspoken advocate for gay rights, Johnson was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall uprising of 1969.
Sylvia Rivera was an American gay liberation and transgender rights activist who was also a noted community worker in New York. Rivera, who identified as a drag queen for most of her life and later as a transgender person, participated in demonstrations with the Gay Liberation Front.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of equality and non-discrimination laws in England, Scotland and Wales. It took over the responsibilities of the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disability Rights Commission. The EHRC also has responsibility for other aspects of equality law: age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. A national human rights institution, it seeks to promote and protect human rights throughout Great Britain.
Transgender rights in the United Kingdom have varied significantly over time.
The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is a memorial wall in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes". Located inside the Stonewall Inn, the wall is part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the country's LGBTQ rights and history. The first fifty inductees were unveiled June 27, 2019, as a part of events marking the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. Five honorees are added annually.
The LGB Alliance is a British advocacy group and registered charity founded in 2019 in opposition to the policies of LGBT rights charity Stonewall on transgender issues. Its founders are Bev Jackson, Kate Harris, Allison Bailey, Malcolm Clark and Ann Sinnott. The LGB Alliance describes its objective as "asserting the right of lesbians, bisexuals and gay men to define themselves as same-sex attracted", and states that such a right is threatened by "attempts to introduce confusion between biological sex and the notion of gender". The group has opposed a ban on conversion therapy that includes trans people in the UK, opposed the use of puberty blockers for children, and opposed gender recognition reform.
Maya Forstater is a British gender-critical activist who was the claimant in Forstater v Centre for Global Development Europe. The case established that gender critical views are protected as a belief under the Equality Act 2010, while stating that the judgment does not permit misgendering transgender people with impunity. At a subsequent full merits hearing, the Employment Tribunal upheld Forstater's case, concluding that she had suffered direct discrimination on the basis of her gender critical beliefs. In a judgement for remedies handed down in June 2023, Forstater was awarded compensation of £91,500 for loss of earnings, injury to feelings and aggravated damages, with an additional £14,900 added as interest.
Allison Elaine Bailey is a retired barrister who specialised in criminal defence law and worked in London, England. Bailey initiated an employment tribunal claim against her legal chambers and Stonewall in 2020. The case has attracted public and media attention, particularly in relation to the Diversity Champions programme. She announced her retirement from the Bar and resignation from her chambers on her website effective 31 March 2023.
The Women's Declaration International (WDI), formerly the Women's Human Rights Campaign (WHRC), is an international advocacy organisation founded in the United Kingdom. WDI has published a Declaration on Women's Sex-Based Rights, and has developed model legislation to restrict transgender rights that has been used in state legislatures in the United States.
Libs of TikTok is a handle for various far-right and anti-LGBT social-media accounts operated by Chaya Raichik, a former real estate agent. Raichik uses the accounts to repost content created by left-wing and LGBT people on TikTok, and on other social-media platforms, often with hostile, mocking, or derogatory commentary. The accounts promote hate speech and transphobia, and spread false claims, especially relating to medical care of transgender children. The Twitter account, also known by the handle @LibsofTikTok, has over 3.5 million followers as of September 2024 and has become influential among American conservatives and the political right. Libs of TikTok's social-media accounts have received several temporary suspensions and a permanent suspension from TikTok.
What Is a Woman? is a 2022 American documentary film about gender and transgender issues, directed by Justin Folk and presented by conservative political commentator Matt Walsh. The film was released by conservative website The Daily Wire. In the film, Walsh asks various people "What is a woman?", attempting to prove that their definition of womanhood is circular. Walsh said he made the film in opposition to "gender ideology". It is described in many sources as anti-trans or transphobic. The film was released to subscribers of The Daily Wire on June 1, 2022, coinciding with the start of Pride Month.
Transphobia in the United States has changed over time. Understanding and acceptance of transgender people have both decreased and increased during the last few decades depending on the details of the issues which have been facing the public. Various governmental bodies in the United States have enacted anti-transgender legislation. Social issues in the United States also reveal a level of transphobia. Because of transphobia, transgender people in the U.S. face increased levels of violence and intimidation. Cisgender people can also be affected by transphobia.
The notion that LGBTQ people, or those supportive of LGBTQ rights, are engaging in child grooming and enabling child sexual abuse is a far-right conspiracy theory and anti-LGBTQ trope. Although the belief that LGBTQ individuals are more likely to molest children has no basis in fact, this stereotype has existed for decades in the U.S. and Europe, going back to before World War II.
Kellie-Jay Nyishie Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, is a British gender-critical and anti–transgender rights activist and the leader of the political party, Party of Women. She is the founder of the group Standing for Women and the former special advisor to the Women's Liberation Front (WoLF). Keen-Minshull has been described as a key figure opposing the United Kingdom's Gender Recognition Act of 2004. She has been credited for popularising the use of the term "adult human female" to define a woman; the term later became associated with gender-critical feminism. She launched a failed bid to become the MP for the constituency of Bristol Central in the 2024 United Kingdom general election, coming in last place with only 0.5% of the vote.
Gays Against Groomers (GAG) is an American far-right and anti-LGBT organization known for campaigning against gender-affirming care for minors, protesting school curriculum content with LGBT themes, criticizing Drag Queen Story Hour events, and opposing LGBT representation in children's media. The group also opposes trans women competing in women's sports and being allowed in women's spaces, pride events where children are present and brands marketing to LGBT people during Pride Month.