Universities have started to review transgender policies after the University of Sussex was fined an astonishing £585,000 for failing to uphold free speech.
Documents advising on the treatment of transgender staff and students have been updated or removed after the Office for Students (OfS) issued its fine.
The investigation from the higher education regulator came after former professor Kathleen Stock was “hounded out” of her job following an alleged campaign of harassment from activists for her gender-critical views.
She claimed many of her fellow colleagues failed to speak up against the bullying she recieved or completely ostracised her.
Following the announcement of the £585,000 fine, Stock pointed out that several other universities still maintained policies similar to those at Sussex.
Arif Ahmed, the OfS’s director of free speech, stated that Sussex’s trans and non-binary equality policy could have caused students or staff who wished to express or discuss lawful views - including gender-critical perspectives - to fear breaching the policy and facing potential disciplinary action.
The rules required academics to “positively represent trans people and trans lives” in course materials.
According to Times Higher Education, several institutions now appear to have reviewed their policies in response.
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Smita Jamdar, the head of education at law firm Shakespeare Martibneau, said they had held discussions with several universities because of the decision.
She said: “The main theme is anxiety that institutions cannot be sure if they are compliant or not.”
The University of Leeds recently updated its website to announce that its trans equality policy is under review following the OfS investigation.
The current policy states that the university includes material that positively represents trans people and their lives.
Meanwhile, the University of Essex seems to have removed a link to a policy on supporting transgender and non-binary staff from its website.
Reportedly the link appeared to be live until just five days before the OfS report was released.
A spokesman for the institution said that Essex kept “our policies and guidance under regular review as part of meeting our legal obligations and protecting freedom of speech within the law”.
Statements on their website relating to trans inclusion are also under review.
It appears that several university equality policies were based on a template from a unit now merged into Advance HE, an organisation that claims to offer expert guidance to universities.
Edward Skidelsky, director of the Committee for Academic Freedom, stated that the "obvious" use of copying and pasting reflected a “lack of intellectual independence on the part of university managers.”
Skills mMnister Baroness Smith of Malvern recently informed the House of Lords that the OfS would be writing to institutions based on its findings to help them “understand their obligations.”
Universities UK has called for clarification on whether policies aimed at preventing "abusive, bullying, and harassing" material or speech would be considered a violation of free speech responsibilities.
The OfS said it was “important to emphasise that none of this means providers can’t have policies which set out how they will protect students from harassment — indeed, our new harassment condition will require them to do so”.
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Documents advising on the treatment of transgender staff and students have been updated or removed after the Office for Students (OfS) issued its fine.
The investigation from the higher education regulator came after former professor Kathleen Stock was “hounded out” of her job following an alleged campaign of harassment from activists for her gender-critical views.
She claimed many of her fellow colleagues failed to speak up against the bullying she recieved or completely ostracised her.
Following the announcement of the £585,000 fine, Stock pointed out that several other universities still maintained policies similar to those at Sussex.
Arif Ahmed, the OfS’s director of free speech, stated that Sussex’s trans and non-binary equality policy could have caused students or staff who wished to express or discuss lawful views - including gender-critical perspectives - to fear breaching the policy and facing potential disciplinary action.
The rules required academics to “positively represent trans people and trans lives” in course materials.
According to Times Higher Education, several institutions now appear to have reviewed their policies in response.
MORE LIKE THIS:
- University set to be issued with record fine after failing to protect free speech
- Gender-critical academic dumps professor title 'in disgust' over universities' 'dim-witted' trans policies
- 'Significant and serious!' Universities warned they MUST uphold free speech or face multi-million-pound fines
Smita Jamdar, the head of education at law firm Shakespeare Martibneau, said they had held discussions with several universities because of the decision.
She said: “The main theme is anxiety that institutions cannot be sure if they are compliant or not.”
The University of Leeds recently updated its website to announce that its trans equality policy is under review following the OfS investigation.
The current policy states that the university includes material that positively represents trans people and their lives.
Meanwhile, the University of Essex seems to have removed a link to a policy on supporting transgender and non-binary staff from its website.
Reportedly the link appeared to be live until just five days before the OfS report was released.
A spokesman for the institution said that Essex kept “our policies and guidance under regular review as part of meeting our legal obligations and protecting freedom of speech within the law”.
Statements on their website relating to trans inclusion are also under review.
It appears that several university equality policies were based on a template from a unit now merged into Advance HE, an organisation that claims to offer expert guidance to universities.
Edward Skidelsky, director of the Committee for Academic Freedom, stated that the "obvious" use of copying and pasting reflected a “lack of intellectual independence on the part of university managers.”
Skills mMnister Baroness Smith of Malvern recently informed the House of Lords that the OfS would be writing to institutions based on its findings to help them “understand their obligations.”
Universities UK has called for clarification on whether policies aimed at preventing "abusive, bullying, and harassing" material or speech would be considered a violation of free speech responsibilities.
The OfS said it was “important to emphasise that none of this means providers can’t have policies which set out how they will protect students from harassment — indeed, our new harassment condition will require them to do so”.
Find Out More...