Bristol Uni feminist society accused of transphobia

A University of Bristol feminist society has come under fire for excluding transgender students.

Women Talk Back society, which describes itself as “a space for women to engage in lively discussion and debate”, allegedly banned trans students from attending a talk on female sexual assault in March 2020. The Telegraph also reported that the Women Talk Back excludes trans students from its society on March 13, 2021.

The events, titled Boundaries and Feminism, was purportedly attended by “a couple” of trans students, including a trans woman. The society reports that after “a 45-minute standoff” between the society’s president, Raquel Rosario Sánchez, and the trans students, the students filed a complaint.

The society is now under investigation by Bristol SU.

A Bristol SU spokesperson has responded to the actions of Women Talk Back, saying: “The definition of ‘women’ in the Bristol SU bylaws is ‘All who self-define as women, including (if they wish) those with complex gender identities that include ‘woman’, and those who experience oppression as women’.

“Bristol SU investigated the conduct of one of our affiliated groups – The Women Talk Back Society following a complaint on their decision not to allow a trans student into one of their events.

“The behaviour was found to be in breach of the Bristol SU Code of Conduct, and the complaints panel decided that it is appropriate to apply sanctions to the group.”

Bristol SU are investigating the complaints. Photo: Patrick Sullivan

The SU is also reaching out to the Trans Students’ Network and LGBT+ Network to offer support to students who have been affected by the continuing discourse surrounding the society.

Bristol SU has ordered mandatory diversity training, asked Rosario Sánchez to step down from her role, and not run as a committee member on any other society’s committee for two years.

Women Talk Back has responded to Bristol SU disputing the claim and Rosario Sánchez is taking legal action against the University of Bristol for “their institutional response to the continuing targeting from student trans activists”.

“Our attendees have repeatedly stressed how important it is that we protect their rights to privacy, safety and dignity when discussing such sensitive matters,” said society members in a statement.

“Over the past three years, Women Talk Back! has explained multiple times to the Bristol SU that our priority is protecting our members’ right to safety, dignity and privacy, and that they have stated the group would not work for them if it was mixed-sex.

“Since our inception we have experienced resistance, rejection and attempts to infringe on our right to single-sex spaces from the Bristol SU.”

The society has appealed against the decision to take the filed complaints to a panel and the concerns will now go through the SU’s appeals process.

Despite calls for Rosario Sánchez to step down from her position, the society says it stands with their president. The society also alleges that Bristol SU changed its bylaws following Women Talk Back’s affiliation with the organisation.

Women Talk Back has come under fire. Photo: Women Talk Back

Women Talk Back say it is “saddened and disappointed” with Bristol SU and has written an open letter to education secretary Gavin Williamson following the organisation’s response, saying that the group’s “free speech and freedom of association” is at risk.

While the society argue that trans students “refuse to accept her (Rosario Sánchez’s) right to express feminist opinions they might disagree with over academic and policy matters in which she is an expert” and say that they are upholding the “single-sex exemptions” of the Equality Act 2010, evidence suggests that their views of sex and gender are highly outdated.

Sex and gender are often used interchangeably but they are in fact two different concepts, even though for many people their sex and gender are the same.

Sex relates to biology, while gender applies to the social construct of masculinity and femininity and is influenced by self-perception.

Main photo: Emily Lloyd

Read more: ‘There are a myriad of reasons why Bristol should have a gender identity clinic’