Joanne Payton

Feminist. PhD in criminology. @best_handbook creator.

[Merched Cymru @MerchedCymru]

Men. The policy has been changed so that *men* will no longer be allowed to play in women's teams.
Obfuscatory language like 'transgender women' is part of the reason we ended up in the situation of women's safety being put at risk by men forcing their way into women's sports.

[Helen Saxby @helensaxby11]

The early 'GC' groups were deliberately apolitical (Fair Play, Transgender Trend) in order to encourage dialogue and help as many different people as possible. The first one to be explicitly political was A Woman's Place, and that was left-wing. Now we have women's 'GC' groups in all political parties, from the Greens to the Conservatives. This is our strength. It is unfortunate to dwell on a tiny minority with more extreme views, especially if you need to find most of these examples from across the pond, where politics, and women's issues, are different.

[Victoria Smith @glosswitch]

As ever, being sad about male violence is virtuous, but having a coherent political analysis of male violence is evil

[Joanne Payton @GalloiseBlonde]

JFC I thought this was about Bill Oddie for a heartbreaking second. #DeathToVagueposting

[clarevoyant @kneeyockartee]

Why is it considered disrespectful to talk about the open secret that he groomed a child just because he died

[Rob Watson @robwmedia]

I’ve sent this to Amnesty…

Dear Amnesty International,

As a supporter of three of the organisations cited in your report concerning the growth of so-called “anti-rights” groups in the UK, I am extremely concerned that you have defamed these groups and their supporters. I support Sex Matters, LGB Alliance and Seen in Journalism, none of who I would consider to be 'anti-rights'.

In my view, these organisations have been unfairly characterised by the inclusion of them in the report. Their work is not directed towards restricting the rights of others, but rather towards advocating for what they consider to be the proper and proportionate balancing of competing rights and interests, including those of women and same-sex attracted people. Whether or not one agrees with every position they take, I do not believe it is accurate or constructive to present them as organisations whose purpose is to undermine the rights of others.

The widespread publicity surrounding the report, combined with Amnesty International’s significant influence and reputation, has contributed to reputational harm for these groups. I am concerned that this damage has been caused by claims and associations that many supporters regard as ill-informed and unsupported.

Citizens in the United Kingdom are free to make independent decisions about the causes, campaigns and advocacy organisations they choose to support. For that reason, I am disappointed that Amnesty has taken a position which, in my view, has stigmatised legitimate participation in public debate rather than encouraging open discussion of complex rights issues.

I therefore ask Amnesty International to review this matter carefully and to take steps to correct the public record as soon as possible. Given the prominence of the report and the attention it has received, any correction or clarification should be made publicly and with comparable visibility.

More broadly, I believe this episode has significantly undermined the reputation of what was once widely regarded as a trusted and respected human rights organisation. I hope Amnesty will take this opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to accuracy, fairness and intellectual rigour by reconsidering the characterisation of these groups.

I would appreciate a response outlining whether Amnesty intends to review or amend its position.

Yours faithfully,

Rob Watson

[Merched Cymru @MerchedCymru]

Severe pain at orgasm is a documented effect of testosterone on the female body. Doctors are often unaware. Girls aren't being warned. This is not a fringe claim — it's being raised at medical conferences. @GussieGrips raised it today. https://t.co/aVkYKteuN1

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

Scottish taxpayers, against the vast majority’s will, funded an attempt by the government to keep men in women’s prisons. Never have I been so tempted to move to Monaco and give all the money I’ve been paying in tax to groups fighting the rank misogyny of Swinney’s government.

[. @LouiseRawAuthor]

I will be pursuing a press complaint against you @DailyMail for this revolting, dangerous, damaging headline.

His poor daughter went to live with him after a difficult life, hoping for love and stability. He got her blind drunk & raped her. She killed herself.
Shame on you.

[Merched Cymru @MerchedCymru]

If Wales had originally had the same devolution settlement as Scotland, we would almost certainly be in the same position. The 'small nation syndrome' that demands we do things differently to England as a default, the breathless, credulous rush to adopt 'progressive' policies 1/

[Sonia Sodha @soniasodha]

Absolute disgrace from the TUC. Waffly nonsense instead of acknowledging the Equality Act ensures anti-discrimination protections for trans people, but doesn’t indulge activist demands that men should be able to identify into female-only spaces.

[Victoria Smith @glosswitch]

If only a piece on the suppression of discourse on women's rights had been presented in a more palatable format, perhaps next to a picture of some tits

[Nick Wallis @nickwallis]

This is about what has been happening at the WellBN gender clinic in Brighton. The story was first exposed by @hannahsbee in the New Statesman here https://t.co/7IYJv3ogNs

[Professor Alice Sullivan @ProfAliceS]

Re-sexing violent crime: Sex bias in official estimates of violent crime underestimates the extent of violence against women and girls Open Access
Sylvia Walby , Brian Francis , Jessica Phoenix

https://t.co/wLbBPkZ2I9

[Gethin Chamberlain @newsandpics]

A Muslim woman with PTSD relating to male sexual violence was told by NHS England that she must share toilet and shower facilities with trans women [biological males]. She took them to an employment tribunal and won. It’s a significant case. Link to the full judgment below.🧵

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

Funny, isn’t it, how women who’ve been raped or beaten are accused of ‘weaponising’ their trauma when they ask for male-free spaces, but trans-identified men who claim using the Gents has a higher mortality rate than armed combat are met with credulity and simpering concern.

[Victoria Smith @glosswitch]

One of the first times I had misgivings about trans activist demands was writing a piece on abortion where I used "pregnant people". I didn't think "oh no, I'm erased!" I thought "this makes it harder to connect reproductive coercion with the status of women at all life stages" >

[Kenan Malik @kenanmalik]

“The left needs to take this issue [the battle against antisemitism] seriously, to see it as intimately linked to the wider politics of freedom and equality.” My @ObserverUK column: https://t.co/Zben7Zzqyp

[Kenan Malik @kenanmalik]

Even more so after the grotesque stabbings yesterday, it cannot be left simply to Jewish communities or the state to respond to the wave of attacks on synagogues and Jews. In previous waves of racism, the left has always been vocal in opposition and needs to be again. 1/

[🕸️Dr.T, PhD @chydorina]

48 female patients came forward to testify to sexual assault by a male Neurologist in Canada.

Male judge discounts ALL of them AND the expert testimony of Dr. Vera Bril (a female doctor and expert) who told the court that it is not norm to do vaginal exams, breast exams or exams of other intimate areas during appointments for neurological concerns.

Canada. Nothing to do with the justice system makes sense to me anymore.

[Diana Alastair💚🤍💜 ⚢ ❌❌✡️ @sappholives83]

You’re a woman who’s having migraines and blackouts. You’re afraid, worried, and it’s taken months to get an appointment with the neurologist in whose office you’re sitting, Dr. Jeffrey “Scott” Sloka.

When Dr. Sloka comes in, the nurse leaves, which is weird, but you’re here for a neurology appointment, so you shrug it off. The doctor asks you some questions, and then he tells you he needs to do a vaginal exam and a breast exam.

You don’t understand why, and he doesn’t explain. You want to refuse, but what if you make him angry? What if he refuses to continue the appointment? This is Canada; you waited for five months for this appointment, and your symptoms are getting worse — so you consent, even though you still don’t understand why he wants to examine you in this way.

Once you’re undressed, Dr. Sloka begins the exam by telling you to remove your gown and stand completely naked with arms and legs spread. The nurse still hasn’t come back, but the doctor proceeds anyway. He says something about checking for lumps, but that doesn’t make any sense; he’s a neurologist, not an ob/gyn.

Then you notice that he isn’t wearing gloves.

During the breast exam, he touches you in ways that make you uncomfortable, and that are not a part of an ordinary breast exam. The vaginal exam is worse: the exam lasts an exceptionally long time, and the doctor inserts his ungloved fingers. The nurse still hasn’t returned.

After the appointment, you feel dirty, soiled. You know deep down that you were assaulted, so eventually you work up the courage to file a report.

It opens a floodgate.

By the time the trial starts, Dr. Sloka has already lost his license, having pled guilty in front of the licensing board. He is facing 48 separate charges for the sexual abuse of his patients.

Woman after woman testifies to this man’s inappropriate behavior. Multiple women testify that Dr. Sloka touched them inappropriately and intimately while not wearing gloves; they describe vaginal exams, rectal exams, and breast exams involving contact that had nothing to do with checking for lumps. An underage girl cries as she describes being pressured into a vaginal exam while her mother was banned from the room.

48 counts. 48 victims. 41 women and girls who took the stand to testify about the abuse they endured.

And one more woman: the Crown’s key expert, Toronto neurologist Dr. Vera Bril. She testified that vaginal, rectal, and breast exams are “far outside our standard of practice,” and “far, far outside” of what neurologists typically do. She stated that these intimate exams were “not necessary” for treating or diagnosing the neurological issues presented by the victims. When the judge retires to deliberate, a conviction seems certain.

Except that’s not what happens.

The judge - Justice Craig Perry - discounts the testimony of all 42 women. He singles out Dr. Bril’s testimony in particular as suffering from “profound frailties,” and accused her of displaying “bias.” He dismisses the victims’ testimonies as well, citing “inconsistencies,” even though none of said “inconsistencies” touched in any way on ex-Dr. Sloka’s guilt.

He accepts ex-Dr. Sloka’s claim that the assaults were medically necessary exams, even though Sloka admits to having performed many of them ungloved, and cannot explain what these exams had to do with any of his victims’ symptoms.

In the end, Justice Craig Perry acquits ex-Dr. Jeffrey “Scott” Sloka on all 48 counts, choosing to believe a (male) defendant who had already admitted his guilt in front of the licensing board over 41 (female) victims and an expert (female) neurologist.

And they say the patriarchy is dead.