Greer freedom of speech not curtailed at university
CARDIFF University was hit by controversy in 2015 when students protested against feminist writer Germaine Greer delivering a lecture, but Westminster’s Joint Committee on Human Rights has concluded her freedom of speech was not curtailed.
More than 3,000 people signed a petition against her delivering a lecture on “women and power” on the grounds she had “misogynistic views towards trans women”.
The furore made international headlines and fuelled debate about freedom of expression in higher education. But a joint investigation by MPs and members of the House of Lords argues that her “freedom of speech was not curtailed” because she was not prevented from giving her talk.
Their report says: “On the contrary, as Professor Colin Riordan, ViceChancellor of the University of Cardiff, said, the Germaine Greer incident should be held ‘up as an example of us valuing these things and protecting academic freedom’.”
They claim it is an example of when “students manifested their right to freedom of expression through peaceful protest”.
However, they warned that “real problems” discourage students throughout the UK today from putting on “challenging events”.
They argue that “protest must not shut down debate” and warn that protesters who try to stop other points of view being heard “infringe upon the rights of others”.
Their report is emphatic it is “unacceptable for protestors to deliberately conceal their identities, break in with clear intention to intimidate those exercising their rights to attend meetings or to seek to stop events”.
They say universities have a “statutory duty to initiate disciplinary measures if individual students or student groups seek to stop legal speech” and argue the “police should take appropriate action against individuals committing criminal acts in the course of protests”.
The report is also critical of “safe spaces” policies intended to ensure “people do not feel threatened because of their gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation”.
It states these policies “need to coexist with and respect free speech” and “cannot cover the whole of the university or university life without impinging on rights to free speech”.
The report warns: “Minority groups or individuals holding unpopular opinions which are within the law should not be shut down nor be subject to undue additional scrutiny by student unions or universities.”
A Cardiff University spokesman said: “Like all UK universities, we have a duty to ensure freedom of speech and academic freedom. Our events provide an opportunity for robust discussion while conducted in line with the principles of courtesy and respect.
“We ensure – wherever possible – that the use of university premises is not denied to any person or group on the basis of their beliefs or views. Universities are, rightly, places where controversial views can be heard, considered, debated and contested. “It’s an opportunity to raise many viewpoints, including challenges and criticisms, as long as they remain within the law. This is a central element of the purpose of a university, and we respect our duty to secure freedom of speech for academics, students and visiting speakers alike.”
Harriet Harman, the chairman of the committee, said: “Freedom of speech within the law should mean just that – and it is vital in universities. Evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights showed that there is a problem of inhibition of free speech in universities.
“While media reporting has focused on students inhibiting free speech – and in our report we urge universities to take action to prevent that – free speech is also inhibited by university bureaucracy and restrictive guidance from the Charity Commission.
“We want students themselves to know their rights to free speech and that’s why we’ve issued a guide for students.”
A spokesman for the National Union of Students said: “I am delighted to see the report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) inquiry into free speech at universities has uncovered what most of us knew all along: that there is no crisis of student censorship on campuses. It really is much ado about nothing.
“The committee rightly notes that ‘the press accounts of widespread suppression of free speech are clearly out of kilter with reality’.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “The Education Secretary has been very clear that universities in Wales have a civic mission. We want all our institutions to be the source of robust thinking and free debate, taking their place in the public square rather than retrenching behind institutional walls.
“This means being connected to the wider community and engaging in debate and ideas, built on evidence from research and careful thought. We expect all our institutions to rise to this challenge and ensure they uphold the principles of openness, accessibility and academic freedom.”
Germaine Greer has been invited to comment.