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Employment Tribunal Rejects Academics’ Discrimination Claim Over Trans-Critical Film

A judge ruled the union’s protests were legitimate protections of members under discrimination law.

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Susan Smith, Deirdre O’Neill and Michael Wayne. O’Neill and Wayne alleged that the University and College Union treated them “detrimentally”

Overview

  • Two academics, Dr Deirdre O’Neill and Michael Wayne, sued their own union after it protested screenings of their 2022 film Adult Human Female, claiming this action unlawfully discriminated against their gender-critical beliefs.
  • Employment Judge Jean Laidler ruled the UCU was “entitled” to oppose the film to protect members from content it deemed offensive, finding no breach of the Equality Act.
  • The UCU’s Edinburgh branch led letters and social media campaigns denouncing the film as transphobic, with protesters twice blocking university screenings in late 2022 and spring 2023.
  • UCU general secretary Jo Grady stated that while gender-critical beliefs are legally protected under the Equality Act 2010, members retain the right to protest expressions they find harmful.
  • The academics expressed disappointment at the ruling and are considering an appeal, underscoring ongoing tensions between free speech and protest over trans rights in academia.