reporting


Evening Standard, said: “What is gender expression or gender identity? Who has a gender identity? There is a received wisdom and received truth without any proper discussion. The [Ipso] guidelines have been informed by a narrow group of lobbyists who share a common ideology – that we all have an innate gender identity, and that gender identity trumps biological sex.” Legally, if an individual is granted a full gender recognition certificate they will, from the date of issue, be considered to be of their acquired gender in the eyes of the law. Researching this detail could help with reporting standards, according to Katherine O’Donnell, a journalist who was made redundant by The Times then lost an employment tribunal after claiming discrimination and unfair dismissal amid a “toxic environment for trans people”. For O’Donnell, the issue of reporting is about media institutional culture and of understanding legislation. “Revolting as I find her crimes, yes, I do think that even White should have female pronouns used in reporting,” O’Donnell says. “Trans people don’t choose to be trans; we are a slice of humanity all the way through from the best to the worst, just like everyone else. Beyond that, I think that reporters and editors should absolutely be alert to and aware of when a story is being used to further the political ambitions of non-transparent and unaccountable groups and individuals. “What was particularly evident in the reporting on the White case was that weight and legitimacy was being given to ‘concerns’ that fail at the most basic levels of scrutiny. When a reporter cannot ask themselves ‘is this what the law actually says?’ and then find out, it is a huge failure of journalism and a failure that is compounded when editors either don’t check for themselves or print it anyway because it sustains their own and readers’ prejudices.” White was still legally male when jailed and, while concerns


about reinforcing prejudices and discrimination through journalism are legitimate, what about the impact of news reports on White’s victims? Nicola Williams, of campaigning organisation Fair Play for


Women, says: “The penis is commonly understood to be a male sex organ, both scientifically and in everyday language. What’s more, if the penis was used in a sexual assault, the


Ipso findings


Trans Media Watch versus The Sun Privacy and discrimination. 2015. Breach. After a Rod Liddle article about blind transgender MP Emily Brothers, The Sun accepted a comment made was ‘tasteless’. The Sun reviewed its editorial processes and decided all copy on transgender matters would be approved by its managing editor before publication. Elan Cave versus Spectator Accuracy and discrimination. 2016. No breach.


An opinion piece headlined ‘It’s dangerous and wrong to tell all children they’re ‘gender fluid’ named Cave and commented on the use of the non-gender-specific pronoun per (meaning person). Ipso concluded it was essential to approach the subject of an individual’s gender status with care and sensitivity but columnists were entitled to express themselves. Bee versus The Sunday Times. Accuracy. 2018. Breach.


phrase ‘her penis’ is likely to be offensive to the victim who has clearly experienced a male-type crime. When a newspaper presents misleading information regarding the sex of a perpetrator, it distorts public perception of the societal reality that most sexual and violent crime is committed by the male sex.” Sky journalist Sonia Poulton has been threatened and lost


An article headlined “Ladies” loos at City landmarks may open to trans women” did not accurately explain the current rights of transgender women under the Equality Act, and had stated that the City’s toilets were not currently open to trans people. Belcher versus The Times Accuracy/discrimination. 2018. No breach. Belcher complained about a comment piece headlined “Suicide should never be a political weapon”. The Times article referred to comments made by Belcher on an increase in trans suicides and


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work from commissioning editors following her reporting on the subject. Poulton says: “Reporting, particularly of a serious crime, should be drawn from biological reality, not gender identity. Women do not have a penis and a statement that includes the description ‘her penis’ is farcical and makes a mockery of a serious reporting issue. Trans men and trans women should never be referred to as just woman or man in reporting – be that print or broadcast. It is entirely inaccurate and misleading. The ‘trans’ exists for a reason and should be used.” Fair Play for Women, which describes itself as ‘a


If the penis was used in a sexual assault, the phrase ‘her penis’ is likely to be offensive to the victim who has experienced a male-type crime


campaigning and consultancy group which raises awareness, provides evidence and analysis, and works to protect the rights of women and girls in the UK’, is challenging the Ipso approach. It argues that Ipso “is wrongly conflating the meaning of sex and self-declared gender identity and is permitting gender identity to be presented as if it were an individual’s sex. This approach means the public is being misled on the occasions when an individual’s sex is relevant and important to the story.” Like Hayton, Fair Play for Women argues that “evidence suggests that Ipso is giving undue weight to minority and contested definitions promoted by special interest groups, rather than mainstream definitions understood by the majority of the public”. The Ipso analysis of the complaint refers to White as ‘she’ and Ipso rulings on transgender reporting have found complaints upheld and have dismissed them. The White case reveals the difficulty for journalists: definitions, pronoun preferences, legislation and references to sexed body parts all bring conflicting ways to navigate the subject. As journalists continue to navigate a difficult subject, without consistent guidance the problems arising around accuracy and avoiding discrimination are likely to continue.


said its columnist was entitled to report on the publicly available comments. Bergdorf versus The Times Accuracy. 2018. No breach. Bergdorf was the subject of an article headlined “Children won’t find role models in Playboy”’ after being appointed NSPCC’s first LGBT+ campaigner. Bergdorf argued it was inaccurate having given only one editorial interview to Playboy. Mike Hill versus Spectator Accuracy. 2018. Breach. An opinion piece headlined ‘The march of trans rights’ misrepresented the contents


of the Allsorts Trans Inclusion Schools Toolkit. Ipso ruled that a correction was an appropriate remedy. Lewin versus Mail Online Privacy. 2018. No breach. An article headlined “Outrage as transgender child groomer who is ‘legally female’ is put in women’s jail leaving inmates terrified” revealed Lewin’s pre-transition male name. Ipso concluded the article raised concerns about Lewin being moved to a women’s prison so the information was relevant


www.ipso.co.uk theJournalist | 13


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