Joanna Cherry QC
@joannaccherry
🧵In the past week both Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie have displayed an extraordinary insouciance towards human rights and equality law by seeking to brand women who question legislative proposals based on gender identity theory

as “transphobes”” & akin to “racists” and “anti-Semites”. Ms Slater wants us banned from the airwaves & Mr Harvie wants us disciplined by our political parties. They really need to acquaint themselves with Articles 9 & 10 ECHR which protect freedom of belief

& freedom of speech in this country. They could also do with reading & understanding the Equality Act & the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in case of Maya Forstater v CGD Europe which established that discrimination, harassment, and victimisation
against persons of gender critical belief is unlawful under the Equality Act. While this was an employment law case the prohibition of this sort of discrimination applies to membership organisations, including political parties, in respect of their members

The Green Party of England & Wales is currently being sued by a former leadership candidate for such discrimination. No doubt thats why sensible political parties in Scotland are not pursuing complaints against women merely for holding & expressing such views

in the way that Mr Harvie seems to want. Both MSPs would also do well to take a look at the Public Sector Equality Duty which obliges those in government to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity

and to foster good relations between different protected characteristics. ENDS