Philosophical beliefs and a Twitter storm formed part of the recent Employment Tribunal judgment in A Bailey v Stonewall Equality Ltd and others.
Allison Bailey was a barrister at Garden Court chambers. Stonewall is a charity which campaigns about trans issues, amongst others.
Ms Bailey’s beliefs include that a woman is defined by her sex not her gender, and that the gender theory proselytised by Stonewall is severely detrimental to women “for numerous reasons, including that it denies women the ability to have female only spaces, for example in prisons, changing rooms, medical settings, rape and domestic violence refuges and in sport”. Ms Bailey believed that Stonewall’s gender theory was particularly detrimental to lesbians.
Garden Court became a Stonewall “Diversity Champion” in December 2018. Ms Bailey complained about this, explaining that her concern related to a belief about who was a woman. She said her complaint resulted in her being given less work, resulting in a fall in her income.
In October 2019, Ms Bailey was involved in setting up the Lesbian Gay Alliance to resist transwomen self-identifying as women. Her tweets about this led to numerous complaints being made to Garden Court. Stonewall also complained.
Garden Court publicly tweeted that it would investigate complaints about Ms Bailey. It also upheld Stonewall’s complaints against her.
Ms Bailey brought Employment Tribunal claims against Garden Court, including for discrimination and victimisation relating to her philosophical beliefs. She also claimed that Stonewall had instructed, caused or induced discrimination (or attempted to) by Garden Court, contrary to equality legislation.
The Tribunal held that Ms Bailey’s beliefs were protected philosophical beliefs, and that she had suffered direct discrimination and victimisation by Garden Court relating to these beliefs. Her claim against Stonewall was not upheld.
Ms Bailey was awarded £22,000 for the injury to feelings she had suffered. This sum reflected Garden Court’s unsympathetic and hostile approach towards Ms Bailey, including effectively telling her “she had brought death threats on herself”.
Read the full judgment here: Ms A Bailey v Stonewall Equality Ltd and others: 2202172/2020 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
