TriptychTwins_WTF! on Nostr: “The message that the censure of Sussex by the OfS sends to universities is they ...

“The message that the censure of Sussex by the OfS sends to universities is they should allow transphobic abuse, they should allow stereotypical portrayals and they should allow negative portrayals,” Heyam said. “That is a hostile work environment.”

The fine, said Parkes, “enhanced this utterly false notion that there is a zero-sum game between treating trans people with respect and having freedom of speech or academic freedom”.

Natacha Kennedy, a lecturer in education at Goldsmiths, University of London, said that in the wake of the OfS action, “universities are going to be afraid to be trans inclusive”.

“Universities are scared because they don’t know where the line is. The potential fines are huge, so they’re going to err on the side of caution,” she said. “Gender-critical researchers talk about a chilling effect on their research – but [the OfS ruling] is having a very big chilling effect on universities.”

As a trans awareness trainer, Heyam said, they frequently encounter “tension” between an institution’s desire to “make it clear that the university is trans inclusive” and its efforts to avoid censure. “It is not possible for them to allow all views to be voiced without consequence and provide a safe and affirming experience for trans students,” they said. “But they’re still trying.”

This tension, they expect, will only intensify when the EHRC guidelines are released. “People are going to want me to give them a magic answer about how they follow the law while keeping their trans staff safe, and I’m not going to be able to do that,” they said.

If the expected guidance on single-sex facilities is implemented, trans researchers will find themselves “having to make judgements about whether it’s safe to go to conferences; whether it’s safe to work on campus”, said Heyam. “Maybe you should work at home so you can go to the toilet, which deprives you of academic community and the chance to develop new ideas in collaboration with others.”

The well-documented overwork crisis in UK higher education is compounded for trans academics, they added: “Imagine that your workload now includes trying to work out when you can go to the toilet safely, explaining to your colleagues what the law says, advocating for why they should treat trans people in a particular way and providing pastoral care to trans students.

“This is an environment where trans academics are not able to produce anything like their best work in research and teaching.”

Kennedy, too, said she took on additional pastoral duties alongside her academic work. “I constantly keep an eye out and watch out for the trans students at my institution, just so they know they’ve got someone to talk to if they need to.

“I think that’s important – there’s a lot of ambient transphobia around.”

Calling on institutions to “stand up for their trans employees and students”, Parkes said institutions “gain a great deal from being places where trans people can work in peace and with respect from their colleagues and their administration. It feels preposterous to have to say this, but that includes being able to use the facilities that are appropriate to them.”

“Trans people are part of the great diversity of humanity. They’re not an objection, they’re not a problem, they’re not a provocation. They’re just human beings,” they said. “Universities can teach whole generations the truth of that.”

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