UK — Lancaster, England. In September 2018, Katie Alcock was expelled as a Girlguiding leader for placing basic childhood safeguarding principles ahead of Girlguiding’s policy on transgender issues, if a conflict arose. Ms Alcock was concerned that risky behaviour from a child who was trans would not be reported to parents, based on the organization’s policy of keeping the child’s confidences:

A child may tell you I am trans, I’m going to meet someone that I’ve met on the internet or I’m taking these drugs that I’ve bought online. These are the kind of things a trusted leader could be told and we were informed we couldn’t disclose to any individual a child was transgender. Therefore we wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about these concerns.

Additionally, Ms Alcock disagreed with Girlguiding’s policy that allowed male individuals who identify as girls or women to share sleeping facilities with – and in the case of adult male leaders, do intimate care for young girls – and that parents of these girls cannot be informed.

In April 2019, Ms Alcock lodged a civil case against Girlguiding in London County Court for expelling and victimizing her for holding a stance not in line with the organization’s gender identity philosophy:

I and other women who do not believe in an inherent gender identity cannot become Guide leaders, as this is a condition of being a Guide leader (you must be a woman who identifies as a woman).

On July 21, 2020, Ms Alcock and her barrister faced off against 5 lawyers representing Girlguiding, who had applied for the hearing to deal with various things. Ms Alcock reported that the court denied each of the organization’s requests:

The long and the short of it is that we got everything we wanted. The stay was allowed, so was the amendment, and there won’t be a separate hearing to discuss my beliefs separately from the facts of my expulsion from Girlguiding. All in all, a good day in court (obviously video court!). Huge thanks to my barrister Adam Ohringer for his work.

While Ms Alcock’s legal costs have totalled £6,000 to date, she notes that Girlguiding may have spent nearly £100,000 thusfar, and that should she lose her case, she could be liable for the organization’s exorbitant costs. Ms Alcock is raising money in case this occurs, stipulating that,

In the event that not all of the donations are used, I will donate anything outstanding to other Crowdjustice claimants bringing claims based on feminist or gender critical beliefs.

CALL TO ACTION

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