A gender-critical academic has threatened a university with legal action after her speech was heckled by trans rights protesters.
Professor Alice Sullivan was giving a talk at the University of Bristol, which was disrupted by protesters who were compared to a “zombie apocalypse”.
Professor Sullivan has claimed the university failed to protect her freedom of speech at the talk last Autumn.
However, the university has rejected these claims, saying the talk went ahead safely, despite admitting there had been “unacceptable disruption”.
Professor Sullivan’s review for the Government previously recommended data on biological sex and gender identity should be recorded as distinct separate categories.
The review had been criticised by LGBT+ charities, with campaign group TransActual calling it “biased, inadequate and potentially harmful to all citizens of the UK, whether trans or not”.
After being invited to speak at the university in July 2024, Professor Sullivan was asked by organisers if the event could be held online rather than in person.
While she accepted that some people might have strongly opposing views on gender identity and had the right to express them, she did not realise what the scale of the protest would be and declined the university’s request.
The protest took place outside the University of Bristol in October
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PA
She told the BBC: “Everyone has a right to peaceful protest, but that must never amount to a heckler’s veto, which means shutting down other people’s right to speak.
“This isn’t just about my rights as a visiting speaker, this is about the rights of the university community to hold discussions and to have people come and listen.”
The talk eventually went ahead on October 22 of this year, however it was met with multiple protests, including chants of “shame on you” with activists pressed up against the window with placards and loudhailers.
The fire alarm was set off more than once, disrupting the talk on multiple occasions before it was moved to a different floor.
The protest took place outside the University (file pic)
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PAA letter from Professor Sullivan’s legal team claimed the University of Bristol had 15 months to find a secure location on campus for the talk.
It also suggests complaints had been made by its LGBTQ+ staff network against Professor Sullivan speaking.
She said the university “could have apologised, and they could have said we intend to do better in future”.
“That is what I want from them,” Professor Sullivan added.
A University of Bristol spokesman said the talk went ahead safely and condemned the behaviour of protesters outside the talk.
They told the BBC: “Although protesters caused unacceptable disruption, appropriate measures were in place to enable the event to continue and to protect the speaker and attendee”
“We refute claims that we failed to protect her freedom of speech; every action we took was in support of this and the restrictions she outlines were all necessary for public safety.
“Our stance is clear, free speech must be lawful. There is no protection within the law for abusive speech that incites violence, harassment or discrimination.
“Clearly the intimidating behaviour of protesters was not peaceful and we have condemned their unacceptable behaviour. We will take disciplinary action if anyone from the university community is identified as being involved.”
Former professor Kathleen Stock was “hounded out” of her job after harassment from activists for her gender-critical views | PA
The Office for Students (OfS), England’s higher education regulator, can investigate universities and colleges and impose fines if it has found they have failed to protect free speech rights.
In March, the OfS issued a record penalty of £585,000 to the University of Sussex after a three-and-a-half year probe into the resignation of academic Professor Kathleen Stock.
The OfS’s investigation found the institution’s trans and non-binary equality policy statement had “a chilling effect” of possible self-censorship of students and staff on campus.
It was launched after high-profile protests called for the dismissal of Professor Stock in 2021 over her views on gender identity.