My Lords, I know that we do not have long and I do not want to be churlish. I am not that keen on this amendment, but I want to ask a question in relation to it.
I am concerned that there should be no conflation in the best practice guidance between the actual, practical problems of, for example, victims of domestic abuse being stalked online, which is a threat to their safety, or threatened with physical violence—I understand that—and abuse. Abuse is horrible to be on the receiving end of, but it is important for freedom of thought and freedom of speech that we do not make no distinction between words and action. It is important not to overreact or frighten young women by saying that being shouted at is the same as being physically abused.
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I also want to discuss the elephant in the room. Many of us have experienced a huge increase in misogynistic abuse over the past year or so. It is actually due to beliefs, rather than to our being women, but it specifically relates to women who insist that we believe in biological sex, as distinct from gender identity. While there are those who do not want this issue raised, it has become one of the key issues for women when people—trans activists, very often men—attack you for being a woman: attack your physical being and tell you that you cannot claim the word “mother” or “woman” for yourself, and so on and so forth. We have seen it in high-profile cases such as those involving Rosie Duffield MP and Joanna Cherry MP, who have been harassed and treated incredibly badly online because of their gender-critical views.
I ask that the consultations bear that in mind and that we do not ignore the contemporary situation; and that the consultations are not confined, therefore, to
the domestic abuse commissioner or the victims’ commissioner but include, for example, LGB Alliance and Sex Matters, and that the Government bring this into scope. I appreciate that the Minister says that the Government cannot interfere in Ofcom, but the Government are saying in this amendment that Ofcom should set up this code. I therefore urge that Ofcom broaden its consultation to take into account the savage online attack on the rights of women who are gender critical due to our belief, ironically, in women as a distinct biological category.