Caroline Lucas MP has been attacked online and labelled ‘transphobic’ for agreeing to meet with a women’s group.
Trans activists accused the group, Woman’s Place UK (WPUK), of spreading ‘hate speech’, and that Lucas should avoid any kind of dialogue with its members.
The former leader of the Green Party has been added to Terfblocker – an online tool that ensures its users do not see anything posted by people deemed to hold transphobic views.
Honest conversation
Lucas was approached on Twitter by a transgender school teacher who said he was in “despair” at the state of the debate around trans rights.
He said: “Lack of confidence is driving fear. Women and trans need to talk and we need to be honest with each other”.
He later encouraged Lucas to speak to women and transsexuals about the matter.
Transphobic Greens
When Lucas confirmed she planned to meet with Woman’s Place, she was attacked online by activists who said the meeting would ‘legitimise bigots’.
The group was also likened to the English Defence League, with one person tweeting: “I don’t meet with the EDL to understand racism… I equally don’t meet with WPUK to understand reforms of Gender Recognition Act.”
Lucas was added to Terfblocker, and party member Aimee Challenor, whom Lucas had recently defended, announced he was quitting the Greens, slamming the proposed meeting as evidence of a “significant transphobia problem” within the party.
‘Transgender champion’
Writing for The Spectator, James Kirkup, noted the irony of Lucas being labelled a Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF).
“Never mind that Lucas has been an outspoken advocate of trans rights in general, and of Aimee Challenor in particular. Never mind that all she said she would do is meet some people and listen to them.”
He concluded: “So it’s official: Caroline Lucas, Green leader and champion of transgender rights, is a Terf whose words must not be heard.”