Edinburgh film showing shut down again after trans rights protest

A planned screening of an academic film that has been branded “transphobic” has again been shut down after being targeted by protesters.

The rearranged event on 26 April at the University of Edinburgh could not “safely” go ahead because people were blocking the entrance to the lecture theatre where it was due to take place, the university said.

Adult Human Female discusses the conflict between the rights of transgender people and those of women. A screening late last year was also cancelled in what the film-makers described as an attack on academic freedom.

Edinburgh’s Staff Pride Network and University and College Union (UCU) branch had objected to the film being shown at the university, saying it represented “an attack on trans people’s identities” and violated workplace respect polices. They also said many of the claims in the film were “provably false” and allowing it to be shown was an implicit endorsement of “unacademic and biased perspectives” by the university. 

Screenings elsewhere in the country have also been disrupted and some have had to take place in secret. The organisers of the Edinburgh event – Edinburgh Academics for Academic Freedom (EAFAF) – defended publicising the screening, saying they felt it was important that the issues it raised were “carefully, respectfully and openly discussed”.

The two academics who made the film – Deirdre O’Neill and Michael Wayne – had travelled to Edinburgh to attend the screening. In a joint statement, they told Times Higher Education that security “seemed to be taken completely by surprise” when a “handful of protesters” blocked the entrance into the building.

“A single protester in a balaclava blocked the actual doorway,” they added. “But security were unwilling to remove this person. Nor did they seem to have ensured the police were on hand.

“So they called the screening off because it could not ‘safely’ go ahead. We wonder if the university would tolerate any other area of its business being closed down by one or two people?”

The academics – who work at the University of Hertfordshire and Brunel University respectively – said they were “deeply disappointed that any university cannot defend the right to assemble to watch a film that should fall well within the parameters of acceptable speech”.

EAFAF said it had issued repeated warnings to senior management that a “hostile environment” was being created on campus by members of staff who opposed the event.

Michael Rosie, a member of the group, said: “We actively advocate for the right to peaceful protest and we support the holding and expression of diverse viewpoints within the university. However, we cannot accept the closing down of debate by those who will not tolerate views contrary to their own.”

Gale Macleod, another member, said the university was guilty of a “failure of leadership” and management had “failed to uphold their legal and moral responsibility to promote and defend academic freedom”.

A university spokesperson said it was “fully committed to upholding freedom of expression and academic freedom, and facilitating an environment where students and staff can discuss and debate challenging topics”.

“We are disappointed that again this event has not been able to go ahead,” they added. “In line with our commitment to fostering an inclusive, supportive and safe environment for our whole community, we worked with the organisers and put measures in place to mitigate risks associated with the event.

“However, with protesters restricting access to the venue, safety concerns were raised should the event proceed. It was therefore decided that the screening should not continue.”

Protests were organised by the campaign group Cabaret Against the Hate Speech and the Staff Pride Network. The former group did not respond to requests for comment but told The Guardian its goal was not to get the event shut down but to “challenge it”.

A spokesperson for the Pride Network said its protest “demonstrated support for trans rights at the University of Edinburgh in a peaceful and non-confrontational manner”.  

“Another group chose to peacefully protest the screening by sitting in front of the doors to the venue. While they were not affiliated with our protest we support their right to protest peacefully as they see fit,” they added. 

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com