Over the past couple of months, we have been working hard to raise awareness about the injustice done to the Feminist Legal Clinic (FLC), a charity providing legal assistance to disadvantaged women. The clinic had its tenancy grant revoked for posting links to articles about trans issues on its website; views which the City of Sydney Council considered to be discriminatory.
The material posted by FLC raised concerns about the impact of harmful gender policies and practices on women’s sex-based rights and the welfare of children.
Last month our CEO Rachael Wong spoke about the issue in the Daily Telegraph, The Spectator and on Sky News.
“The appalling decision by the City of Sydney Council is just one instance of many where trans considerations are being elevated above the rights and welfare of women and girls in our current culture.
“It is devastating to see a much-needed women’s legal service cancelled by so-called progressive politicians, for no reason other than it dares to defend women’s sex-based rights and question the harmful impact of extreme gender ideology on women and children,” Rachael told the Daily Telegraph.
“Trans people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, but so do women and girls. Many women are greatly troubled by biological males accessing single-sex female spaces (such as shelters, prisons, bathrooms), the unfair and unsafe participation of trans athletes in women’s sport, the medical transitioning of children (who are disproportionately teenage girls), and the silencing and harassment of women who speak out about these things,” she wrote in The Spectator.
In her interview on Sky, Rachael told host Chris Kenny that the Council’s punishing of those it disagrees with is a “serious misuse of power” that it should be held accountable for, and that the decision was “ironic in a sense”, because “what the clinic has been accused of is discrimination but that’s exactly what the council is doing in this situation”.
Last week, we received further coverage on Sky News for our petition asking the Council to restore the Clinic’s grant.
Sky News host Peta Credlin even agreed to sign and share our petition on Facebook.
Whilst Women’s Forum Australia and the Feminist Legal Clinic may not be aligned on every issue (though our shared interests and concerns are certainly greater than our differences), we will continue to fight for their right and the right of all women to speak freely about concerns that so deeply affect them and those they care about.
In the meantime, please continue to sign and share the petition, and we will update you once we have presented it to the Council.
Women’s Forum Australia is an independent think tank that undertakes research, education and public policy advocacy on issues affecting women and girls, with a particular focus on addressing behaviours and practices that are harmful and abusive to them. We are a non-partisan, non-religious, tax-deductible charity. We do not receive any government funding and rely solely on donations to make an impact. Support our work today.
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