Universities failing to protect gender-critical academics, says report

UK universities have failed to protect gender-critical academics from bullying and career-threatening restrictions on their research, according to a report highlighting suffocating bureaucracy on campus.

- Richard Adams

The report by Alice Sullivan, a professor of sociology at University College London, recommends students and staff "taking part in freedom-restricting harassment should face consequences commensurate with the seriousness of the offence".

Sullivan said her report "raises stark concerns about barriers to academic freedom in UK universities. Researchers investigating vital issues have been subjected to sustained campaigns of intimidation simply for acknowledging the biological and social importance of sex."

However, the report said the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, which comes into force next month, will serve to uphold researchers' rights in England, and calls for similar legislation in other parts of the UK. The report's evidence pre-dates the supreme court's April ruling on biological sex.