Professor: Trans trolls are a threat to our democracy
A UNIVERSITY of Oxford history professor assigned security guards to protect her from transgender activists has warned ‘democracy is under threat’.
Feminist Selina Todd was given protection by the university after online threats were made against her.
The St Hilda’s College academic has been accused of transphobia over her opposition to legislative changes that would enable men to instantly identify as women. She vehemently rejects the accusation.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday, Professor Todd said: ‘In the world today, democracy is under threat and we all have to defend the right of people to freedom of speech and freedom of debate.
‘As a historian, I know that it’s absolutely not the case that you can say, “Well transpeople’s rights matter more than women’s rights so you’ve all got to shut up.” That’s not how democracies work.’
Professor Todd said Oxford’s history faculty received complaints on a ‘daily’ basis from activists calling for her to be sacked. She previously faced a complaint, backed by a Facebook petition, about comments she made on social media.
The complaint was dismissed by the university.
Yesterday she described ‘a campaign of stealth against me within academia – from academic scholars as well as students – which led me to feel very vulnerable’. The two guards take her to lecture halls, check she is not being followed, and then sit at the back so students see them when they arrive.
She is one of a number of academics who fear their freedom of speech is being silenced by students complaining they are transphobic. Feminist writer Julie Bindel was verbally abused, lunged at and almost hit in the face after an Edinburgh University meeting on women’s sex-based rights. And associate professor Chloe Houston, who lectures in early modern drama at Reading University, has spoken about claims against her by students that she was ‘breaching a safe space’ for trans students simply by her presence.
Merton College, Oxford, was also criticised last week for its plans for a debate on transgender issues that required attendees to sign a code of conduct stating they must not express views ‘intended to undermine the validity of trans identities’. The plans have since been replaced with a statement in favour of free speech.
Last night the University of Oxford said: ‘When staff raise concerns with us, the university will always review the circumstances and offer appropriate support to ensure their safety and freedom of expression.’