Trans activism has turned Oxford into a toxic wasteland of censorship

For those who do not believe that academic freedom and free speech are under attack on university campuses, look no further than the case of Dr Michael Foran.

Over the weekend Foran, an associate professor of law at the University of Oxford, announced that he had been forced to cancel the remaining two lectures of his four-part series on gender law after sustained abuse, harassment and disruption from trans activists.

Taking to X, Foran – an expert in equality law who was cited in last year’s Supreme Court ruling – announced that he would be cancelling the remaining lectures, based on his new book, Sex, Gender Identity and the Law. He wrote: ‘This is deeply lamentable, but the disruption has undermined the academic nature of this series. Students shouldn’t face bullying or harassment when attending academic events.’

Here’s what happened. As Foran was preparing to begin his first lecture on 29 May, two protesters (one with signature green hair) approached the front of the lecture hall and began to address the audience. A man claimed that Foran ‘masks his transphobia behind a thin veneer of academia’. He went on to add: ‘If you are here in a critical capacity to challenge his ideas… that is not the same as refusing to platform him. He will not be convinced by your arguments. Please join me in walking out and refusing to platform this bigot.’

The same activists returned for the second lecture, addressed the audience once more, and were met with loud chants from audience members demanding they leave. After they did, two other protesters who had concealed themselves among the audience rose to their feet and continued attempting to drown out Foran’s lecture.

It is all quite ironic. The protesters hypocritically declared that ‘he will not be convinced by your arguments’. Would they? Surely, if the disruptive students wanted to prove their point – or embarrass the lecturer – they should have listened to the lecture and engaged in debate at the end. Clearly, they were the ones unwilling to be ‘convinced’ by contrary arguments.

I believe it is high time we called these activists what they really are: vicious and militant authoritarians who deploy a heckler’s veto. They are so deeply uncomfortable with open debate that they seek to silence those who choose to side with the law rather than their worldview.

Over recent years, cancel culture has turned university campuses across the country into a toxic wasteland of censorship. We have seen academics and students alike hounded off campus, ostracised by their peers, and subjected to sustained campaigns of abuse and harassment for holding or expressing legitimate and lawful views. This trend has only worsened given the increased prominence and polarisation of debate around Palestine and trans activism.

The Free Speech Union is no stranger to the sinister nature of trans activists and their weaponisation of vexatious complaints to silence gender-critical voices on campus. Since the Free Speech Union was founded in 2020, it has fought over 6,000 cases. Six years on, those penalised or cancelled as a result of their gender-critical views remain the single largest category of cases handled by the organisation.

And what has the esteemed University of Oxford had to say? Nothing of substance. In fact, an anonymous source from the university who was present at the lectures has said that the Proctors’ Office gave permission for the protests to go ahead. It has been reported that despite students complaining to that office about the first disruptive protest, officials still allowed the same activists to disrupt the second lecture.

Of course, everyone has a right to protest at university. But this right does not extend to abusing academics and attempting to shut down lectures. Furthermore, ever since the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 came into force, universities have had an obligation to uphold freedom of speech on campus. On this count, Oxford has dismally failed.

Foran is far from alone. Last year, Professor Alice Sullivan – who had led a government commission recommending that data on biological sex and gender identity be recorded as distinct categories – endured a similar experience at the University of Bristol. In 2021, philosopher Kathleen Stock was hounded from her post at Sussex University because of her gender-critical views. And trans activists are more than happy to target students, too, as the cases of Connie Shaw and Thea Sewell depressingly demonstrate.

Enough is enough. The whole point of going to university is to have your ideas tested and challenged. Trans activists clearly have no interest in this – but they must not be allowed to interfere with those who do.

Max Thompson is the campaigns officer at the Free Speech Union.