lisa keogh abertay

Abertay University: hugging, not crushing?


The law student who was reported by classmates after stating that women have vaginas and are weaker than men has been cleared of misconduct by her university.

Lisa Keogh, who is a mature student at Abertay University in Dundee, made the incendiary comments in an online seminar on gender and the law.

"As overjoyed as I am about this decision, I am saddened that I went through this at such a critical time in my university career", said Keogh, a former mechanic. 

Stating that she would not feel comfortable attending graduation events, the 29-year-old said, “I was targeted because of my gender critical views – it was a modern day witch hunt". 

Keogh had said there was "uproar" in the online seminar when she expressed her views, with one of her peers calling her a "typical white cis girl".

"I know the University has a duty to investigate all complaints, but to draw this process out for two months while I was taking my final exams was needlessly cruel", she said. 

A spokesperson for Abertay University said, “Under normal circumstances the University does not comment on student disciplinary cases, however as the student involved in this case has chosen to comment publicly we feel it is necessary for us to do so on this occasion".

“Contrary to misleading statements by some commentators who view this as a case about gender identity, Lisa Keogh was not subject to disciplinary action for expressing so-called ‘unacceptable opinions’ about gender identity, or any other topic".

They said that Keogh met with a student disciplinary board to consider a "single element" of "an initially complex complaint" which "concerned a complaint about the behaviour of Ms Keogh in class".

“As previously stated, our Code of Student Discipline does not constrain lawful free speech, but does cover student behaviour", said the spokesperson.

Keogh was supported in her case by SNP MP Joanna Cherry, who said the University "should review its free speech and equality policies to make sure that future students are not subject to the stress of spurious complaints nor discriminated against, harassed or victimised for their beliefs"

She was also represented by the Free Speech Union, whose general secretary Toby Young said, "It should have been obvious that the complaints against her were due to her gender critical views, not the manner in which she expressed them. In a seminar on gender, feminism and the law there should be room for a range of views, from militant trans activism to traditional feminism". 

He said Keogh "deserves a huge amount of credit for standing up for herself". 

"The path of least resistance would have been to apologise and renounce her heretical belief, but instead she fought her corner. Thanks to her courage, there is now space for a broader range of views at Abertay – it is no longer taboo to defend sex-based women’s rights".

Keogh's exoneration came as former think tank employee Maya Forstater, who lost her job after saying that people can't change their biological sex, overturned an Employment Tribunal decision which had deemed her gender critical beliefs as "not worthy of respect in a democratic society".

Tip Off ROF

Comments

Gobblepig 11 June 21 09:45

I see that RollonFriday considers "women have vaginas" to be an incendiary comment. Goodness but life must be stressful when one's woke offendedness bar is set so low.  

OhGod! 11 June 21 10:33

Getting ready for another dose of anti-trans parties in the comments section. 

For people claimed to have been cancelled they so unbearably loud, annoying and impossible to avoid.  

Anonymous 11 June 21 10:51

I do wonder how Charles Dickens would have written about being subjected to a barrage of angry tweets.

Anonymous 11 June 21 11:14

"For people claimed to have been cancelled they so unbearably loud"

Having attempted to cancel these people and failed, the backup plan is that we then try to pass that failure off as evidence that we never actually tried to cancel them in the first place. 

If we censor you then we win, but if we don't quite mange it despite our best efforts then you have nothing to complain about and should shut up immediately. 

 

"For someone who claims to have been the victim of a murder attempt you're awfully talkative; everyone else ignore the stab marks please..."

Anonymous 11 June 21 12:06

Add this to religion and politics as topics not to be discussed in public. 

My favourite are those low grade shows where the guest contributors hold polarised views that turn into a loud argument. Especially when it turns to slurs. Pure guilty pleasure like a Channel 5 documentary.

Anonymous 11 June 21 14:16

"Anon 11 June 21 12:12

Is the Highland Games stock photo really necessary or relevant, RoF? Have a word."

 

Yes - it's a man wearing a skirt... or is it? 

Touker 11 June 21 14:56

Victimhood has become the most valuable currency of the day and we have a lot of counterfeiters in our society...

Anonymous 11 June 21 22:16

I'm still reeling from the fact that it took a woman going to the Employment Appeal Tribunal to uphold the right to believe in reality - that men cannot magically change into women and that biological sex is real. Up next, the world is actually round. 

Hmm, maybe 15 June 21 09:50

Strikes me that the university's comments mean that:

- There was a complaint about what she said (which was an absurd complaint, but some people are like that) and that she was unpleasant or aggressive in the way she said it (which probably was equally absurd, but the universities needed to investigate just in case)

- The university only investigated the conduct issue but can't spell that out. 

In the meantime, it SJW v Gammon on the web, all over nothing much in particular.

Related News