The University of Sussex in the UK has been fined 585,000 pounds for failing to uphold free speech in its attempt to appease trans activists. The UK’s Office of Students (OfS) imposed the penalty on the University after an investigation into an incident where a professor named Kathleen Stock had to leave the institution after harassment and bullying by trans activists .
Professor Stock had to face a campaign of harassment, and bullying for expressing that biological sex is real and gender-identity activism should not mean biological males who call themselves ‘trans-women’ being allowed in female-only spaces.
OfS director Arif Ahmed stated that in future, universities may even face higher fines if they fail to uphold the principles of free speech and thought. He added that the penalty set for the University of Sussex could have been over a million pounds.
OfS is the UK government’s education regulator. It was given the power to impose penalties on Universities for failing to uphold principles of free speech.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has stated that free speech and academic freedom are ‘non-negotiables’, adding that Universities are the place where ideas and opinions should be challenged and expressed without fear.
