Upcoming event speakers in the news

Frances Crook, our first guest in the 'Lunch with...' webinar series, featured in a Guardian piece looking back on her 35 years at the helm of The Howard League for Penal Reform. We hope you will join Frances, in conversation with Richard Garside, discussing prisons, the reform movement and her career in criminal justice.

Register for 'Lunch with...Frances Crook' here. 

Professors Rosa Freedman and Jo Phoenix, who will be our guest speakers at our special event, '"SHUT THE **** UP, ****". Reason and respect, and the culture of silencing', were the subject of a Julie Bindel piece in Unherd this week. 

Rosa and Jo were both due to speak at separate events at the University of Essex in 2019 on two different issues but had their scheduled appearances cancelled by the university after backlash from activists and academics over their views on sex-based rights for women. After a university commissioned review of these cancellations by barrister Akua Reindorf, the university issued apologies to both Rosa and Jo. However, shortly after the Reindorf report was published, the Vice-Chancellor, Antony Forster, issued a public apology for publishing the report. This has led to claims that his original apology to Rosa and Jo was little more than a PR stunt. 

This week, Julie Bindel reveals that the university will no longer redact personal data from the Reindorf Report that had formerly been witheld about Rosa and Jo. The two academics have written a public letter, published on Jo Phoenix's substack, outlining their joint perspective on the impact the university's actions have had on them. They do not consent to the university revealing their personal data, nor do they have recourse to employment rights since they are not employed at the University of Essex. 

If you're interested in hearing what Jo and Rosa have to say on their experiences over the last 18 months, academic freedom and how to discuss contentious issues in policy and academia, sign up to our forthcoming event here.