Women Speak Tasmania is scheduled to speak at a Human Rights Week event for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) on 12 December next.
On 30 November, former Anti-discrimination Commissioner, Robin Banks, emailed WILPF with the following …
‘I am writing out of concern for WILPF, having just seen the invitation to your human rights week event at which you have Women Speak Tasmania as the speakers.
I anticipate that the reason you have invited this group is their apparent promotion of women’s rights. Sadly, this is not a group that support human rights for all.
They have, at present, a nasty and untruthful campaign targeting members of Tasmania’s gender diverse community. They do not support the human rights of people who are gender diverse. Indeed, they deny their very humanity and existence.
The giving to this group a platform for their hateful views by WILPF will be seen by many in the LGBTIQ community as an endorsement by WILPF of those views. This is the very real potential to damage the reputation of an extraordinary and compassionate long-standing human rights group.
If there is any way that I can help you to negotiate what I think is a very difficult situation, I am happy to do so
Robin Banks
Ms Banks’ statements clearly amount to vilification of the Women Speak Tasmania speakers, and are just as clearly defamatory of them.
In Human Rights Week, it is disappointing to see a person of Ms Banks’ experience in this area seeking to undermine the rights of any group to freely express their opinion.
We are particularly concerned Ms Banks has offered unsolicited advice to WILPF and in doing so has attacked the credibility of Women Speak Tasmania with arrogance and unashamed impunity.
Women Speak Tasmania members will be submitting a claim to the Tasmanian Anti-discrimination Commissioner on the grounds that Ms Banks’ email has insulted, humiliated and ridiculed them.
We may also consider a defamation action.
Source: Tasmanian Times
https://tasmaniantimes.com/2018/12/robin-banks-attempts-to-no-platform-women-speak-tasmania