Talk on single-sex spaces attracts peaceful protest
Group chants and hands out flyers
PROTESTERS chanted ‘trans rights are human rights’ outside a University of Portsmouth building as a talk on single-sex spaces took place inside.
Political advocacy group Woman’s Place UK hosted an event with a number of panellists at the Richmond Building on Thursday evening.
Speakers included writers Julie Bindel and Jean Hatchet, barrister Lucy Masoud, WPUK co-founder Kiri Tunks and Shonagh Dillon, who runs
Portsmouth domestic abuse charity Aurora New Dawn.
They held a panel focusing on the question ‘What’s important about single-sex spaces?’
Outside, a group of protesters led what police said was a ‘peaceful protest’, handing out flyers to guests walking into the building.
This flyer said that Woman’s Place UK is an anti-trans ‘hate group’ run by people ‘masquerading as women’s rights activists’, and that the speakers are ‘transphobes’ or members of the trans-exclusionary feminist (Terf) or ‘gender critical movements’.
Shonagh said: ‘Everyone has the right to protest – it didn’t interrupt our meeting, we had a really successful evening and we had some good convention about women’s sex-based rights.
‘The flyer is completely untrue – you only need to go to the Woman’s Place website to see that it’s not anti-trans.’
Clare Parry, the university liaison police officer, said: ‘This is a peaceful protest, I’ve got no cause for worry.
‘They’ve got the lawful right to protest.’
None of the protesters wished to speak to The News, but several of the event attendees shared their thoughts on the topics being discussed.
Caroline Burke said: ‘I see arguments on both sides for single-sex spaces.
‘I don’t always agree with Julie Bindel but she speaks very well.
‘I think the idea of saying no to debate is worrying.’
WPUK organisers said the event would hear the views of ‘those working in organisations which seek to challenge male violence against women’ on the topic of single-sex spaces.
The flyer, produced by Portsmouth Anti-Fascists, said that WPUK is arguably ‘attempting to “separate the T from the LGB” by portraying transgender rights as being anti-feminist and hostile to minorities’.
Karen Ingala Smith said: ‘I don’t like middle-class, privileged students trying to remove support from people.
‘My business is supporting women and this is taking my energy away from my work.’
Organised by The Urology Foundation, Urology Awareness Month aims to raise awareness of urological diseases as well as raise money to fund training and vital research into these diseases.
It is estimated that 1 in 2 of us will be affected by a urology condition in our lifetime. Our urology health is vital to our quality of life. We asked two of Sussex’s leading female Urologists what their tops tips are to help women who struggle to control their bladder.
Suzie Venn explains, “Urinary incontinence is the unintentional loss of urine, a problem which is estimated to affect one in six adults. It can be difficult to discuss urinary symptoms openly, but it is important for women to speak out, seek advice
and take control of their bladder.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of urinary incontinence: stress incontinence and urge incontinence. Stress incontinence usually occurs when the bladder is under pressure by physical activity, such as sneezing, coughing and laughing. Pregnancy and childbirth can also cause this form of incontinence. Urge
incontinence is when you have a sudden and strong need to urinate, which is then followed by an involuntary loss of urine. This can occur at any time, however, it is more common as you age.
To understand what type of incontinence you are suffering from, it’s best to book an appointment with your GP, who can review your symptoms and run a couple of routine tests to check there is no sign of infection. However, in some cases you can have a combination of both
incontinence issues.”
Angela Birnie, Urologist at Nuffield Health Chichester Hospital adds, “Depending on what your ability is to control your bladder, a lot of cases of incontinence can be resolved through various lifestyle changes. If you are experiencing incontinence, I recommend the
following tips:
Mrs Venn and Ms Birnie are Consultant
Urological Surgeons based at St Richards Hospital and Nuffield Health Chichester Hospital. For more information, or to book an appointment at Nuffield Health Chichester Hospital, please call: 01243 882694