Open letter to Tasmanian Candidates and MPs asking them to sign the Women's Pledge

Open letter to Tasmanian Candidates and MPs asking them to sign the Women's Pledge

The Women's Pledge

I am committed to standing for women.

As a Tasmanian politician or candidate for election to the Tasmanian Parliament, I promise to:

  1. Definition of a woman: Commit to the definition of woman as a biological female. 
  2. Women's spaces: Commit to keeping women's spaces exclusively for women. Bathrooms, refuges, prisons and all women's spaces are to be exclusive to biological females and protected from men identifying as women.
  3. Women's sport: Commit to keeping women's sports exclusively for women. All women's sporting grades are to be exclusive to biological females and protected from men identifying as women.
  4. Freedom of speech: Commit to protecting anyone who challenges gender ideology. Australians that question or speak against gender ideology will be protected from vilification, legal action and other forms of retribution.
  5. Data collection: Commit to ensuring reporting and data collection across Tasmania preserves the distinction between biological females and males. 

 


 

Pledge Signed!


Louise Elliot
Independent Candidate for Clark

Jenny Branch-Allen
Independent Candidate for Lyons

Andrew Roberts
Independent Candidate for Lyons

Aldo Antolli
Liberal Candidate for Franklin

Dale Marshall
Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Candidate for Braddon

Bob Elliston
Independent Candidate for Franklin

Mark Brown
Independent Candidate for Bass

 

Pledge Rejected


All Candidates
Tasmanian Greens

Sam Campbell
Local Network Candidate for Clark

Will you sign?

Open letter to Tasmanian Candidates and MPs asking them to sign the Women's Pledge


Dear Tasmanian Candidates and MPs,

All over the world women and girls are being stripped of their sex-based rights and protections, as biological males are allowed to self-identify as female, and access their spaces, services, activities and opportunities.

This has far reaching implications for:

  • Women’s safety. There are now countless stories of women being raped and sexually assaulted by men who identify as women in (what should be) female-only spaces like prisons, bathrooms and refuges. What’s more, such crimes are falsely being recorded as female crimes. 
  • Women’s sport. Allowing men who identify as women to compete in female sporting events jeopardises the physical safety of women and girls, fairness in competition, and the full range of opportunities afforded by sport (e.g. places on sports teams, awards, scholarships, career opportunities and more). 
  • Freedom of speech. Women who question the notion that men can identify as women and be treated as women for legal and policy purposes, are increasingly being subjected to vilification, legal action, loss of employment and other retribution and abuse.
  • Accurate data collection. Sex aggregated data which is essential for informing public policy, funding allocation and the provision of services in the areas of health, crime, employment and so on is being recorded inaccurately. 

Tasmania allows males to self-identify as women under various laws, policies and guidelines. It also allows the gender ideology which encourages this flawed approach to flourish. 

Being able to accurately define what a ‘woman’ is and have this translated into laws and policies is fundamental to the rights, wellbeing and dignity of women and girls.

I stand with Women’s Forum Australia in asking you to sign the pledge to stand with women, acknowledging that women and girls are biological females, and recognising that this must be upheld in laws, policies and practices in Tasmania.