According to advocates, Connie Shaw’s event is a part of a larger “free speech crisis” in the UK.
After scholar Connie Shaw was suspended from a school radio station for her “gender important” opinions, a free speech business has started a judicial evaluation against the American government.
Shaw, ( pictured ) a third-year philosophy and theology student at Leeds University in England, received a “notice of suspension” by the university’s student government union Oct. 30 after she spoke out against the transgender ideology on her podcast.
According to a report from the Free Speech Union, a non-partisan lobbying group in Britain, the scholar government claimed that her thoughts had harmed the scholar television network’s status and “values.”
Free speech is disappearing in the UK’s higher education system, according to Ben Jones, a representative from the Free Speech Union, according to The College Fix.
In a new email, Jones stated that the FSU has supported Connie since the beginning and that it will do whatever it think is necessary to ensure that her goal is just. Situations like Connie’s have repeatedly demonstrated that British universities still have a free conversation problems.
According to Jones, the main step in resolving repression in the UK is to file a lawsuit, particularly in light of Shaw’s circumstances.
The higher education sector and student unions must be subject to much stricter legal standards, according to Jones.” We’ve started a judicial review of the government’s decision to suspend the Higher Education ( Freedom of Speech ) Act,” he said.
According to a report in The Telegraph, Shaw was suspended from Leeds Student Radio on November 29 after the student union determined that she “brought the television station into disgrace” as a result of her” social media activity.”
On Shaw’s representative, Jones ‘ free speech firm also is appealing the scholar government’s decision to ban her from the television display, arguing her “gender important” views should have been protected by the Equality Act of 2010, the post states.
After writing a blog post on the blog of Irish comedian Graham Linehan, the 20-year-old student received backlash. Linehan has faced criticism for his outspoken opposition to transgender activism and for his remarks on X and The Glinner Update.
Shaw’s article,” Gender Madness at the University of Leeds”, scrutinized the university’s “gender expression fund”, which gives grants to transgender students to purchase” chest-binders” and makeup.
Shaw also interviewed Linehan on her podcast and a “detransitioner” in another episode.
The Fix‘s requests for comment via email over the past two weeks, informing the Leeds University’s media relations office about Shaw’s case and the right to free speech on campus, were ignored. Shaw also did not respond to The Fix‘s request for comment.
A week after her suspension, Shaw shared the LSR committee’s decision to terminate her leadership position in a post on social media.
I have been permanently removed from my committee position after being suspended from Leeds Student Radio and subject to an investigation by Leeds SU. Due to my gender-sensitive viewpoints, I think I’ve been fired.
The Free Speech Union @Speech Union and I believe the removal amounts to direct… https ://t.co/FyG94yewgK
— Connie Shaw ( @_ConnieShaw ) December 5, 2024
Advocates claim that her case highlights a much wider issue with UK free speech.
The Alliance Defending Freedom UK spokesperson Lois McLatchie Miller told The Fix via email that censorship has become a major issue in the country.
The conservative legal group is involved in similar free speech cases in the country, but ADF is unrelated to Shaw’s case.
” Whether it’s in the halls of our once-esteemed universities, or on the public streets nearby abortion facilities, a culture of censorship has made it incredibly difficult to have important conversations in Britain”, Miller said.
Shaw is an inspiration, according to the ADF spokesperson, because she is using her voice to advocate for others by resisting societal pressure to do so.
The public is being woken up to the problem and given more authority to voice their opinions thanks to the bravery of people like Connie who speak up for their legal right to freedom of expression. That gives me hope”, Miller said.
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IMAGE: Connie Shaw/Substack
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