Allison Bailey. A name that may mean nothing to you. But it should.
Because she is a female barrister who just took on censorious trans-extremist bullies, and won.
An employment tribunal yesterday ruled that that she was unlawfully discriminated against and victimised by senior colleagues at Garden Court Chambers over comments she made on social media expressing criticism over how trans rights activists were infringing on the rights of lesbian and gay people.
In 2018, Ms Bailey complained to colleagues about her law chambers involvement with the Stonewall Diversity Champions scheme, claiming the charity advocated, quote ‘trans extremism’.
Allison Bailey won in her case against 'censorious trans-extremist bullies,' Mercy Muroki says.
Yui Mok
The following year, Bailey was involved in setting up the Lesbian and Gay Alliance group which argues there is a conflict between the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people, and transgender people.
For instance, many trans rights activists genuinely claim that if a lesbian does not want to sleep with a biological male who identifies as a woman, that is tantamount to transphobia. Which defies morality and logic - but then again, logic has never been these peoples strong suit.
Now - the LGB Alliance, which is registered charity, claims to have these core values:
Reality of biology -
We recognise that sex is binary, female and male, and that (for the vast majority of people) sex is determined at conception, observed at birth (or in utero), and recorded..
It also advocates for individual freedom. It says that it rejects that men who identify as women should, without question, have the right to access women’s spaces - or have a right to be accepted as sexual partners by lesbians. It believes the same of women who identify as men.
Now Allison Bailey - who has been supported by JK Rowling - is a heroine to me.
She - and the many women who have been taking on hardline trans bullies - are trailblazers.
And whilst I absolutely do not want to reduce Allison to her meaningless immutable characteristics - they're worth pointing out.
Ms Bailey is a 2nd generation immigrant, her parents came to Britain from Jamaica. She is a black, lesbian, feminist (a true feminist, not one of these new age faux-feminists who try to silence women they disagree with).
JK Rowling has backed Allison Bailey for her stance against Stonewall.
John Walton
But she's far more than that, she's been a criminal barrister since I was 5 years old. In fact, as she was studying hard at university (where she got a first class degree by the way), she spent her spare time working with women and children sexual abuse survivors.
And yet the so-called ‘gender activists’ who claim to care about women, about rights - have made her life hell. But Stonewall, and all those who blindly follow their extremist orthodoxy, couldn’t hold a light to her.
During the hearings, Ms Bailey said that she had been “thrown to the hate mob“ by the chambers.
She said “What I have never tried to do to anyone in chambers or elsewhere is to say that because you do not agree with me, I am going to ruin your reputation and deprive you of your livelihood. That has been the stock-in-trade of the trans rights movement.”
She also has said this: “We cannot achieve a just outcome for everyone while Stonewall are free to threaten women like me with the loss of our livelihoods and reputations. Stonewall must be held to account. I intend to do just that.”
Rightly so. In the interests of balance...Garden Court Chambers have issued the following statement: "The Tribunal found that it 'could not conclude that Garden Court Chambers as a whole had a practice of treating gender critical beliefs as bigoted'.
"This confirms our stance. We have maintained throughout that our members, quite reasonably, hold differing views in the complex debate around trans and sex-based rights."
They are looking at appealing the ruling.
Now, also in the interest of facts - whilst Bailey won her case against her Chambers, she did not win against Stonewall. But she said this on Twitter:
The clock is ticking on Stonewall because of brave individuals like Bailey.
Any organisation, any corporation, entity which continues to bankroll Stonewall. You are on the wrong side of history. Any young girl or boy, who grows up in a world where they are not free to express freely views about gender, will not forgive you.
Allison Bailey, on behalf of women all over the country, on behalf of all men and women who care about freedom of expression, who care about rights, thank you.