The anti-trans “gender critical” (GC) movement has been associated with a number of high profile legal cases in the last two years, notably former police officer Harry Miller's case against the college of policing1 and the case brought against NHS trans healthcare for young people by detransitioner Kiera Bell and an anonymous parent of a trans child2. In both cases, the plaintiffs were represented by solicitor and self-described “human rights lawyer” Paul Conrathe of SinclairsLaw, with legal costs raised via legal crowdfunding site CrowdJustice.
Since early 2019, SinclairsLaw has been the recipient of money raised by at least 9 different anti-trans appeals on CrowdJustice, totalling just over £314,000 in money raised (see table below).
| Crowdfund title | Case owner | Amount raised |
|---|---|---|
| Challenging Thought Crime: HarryTheOwl v The College of Policing, last retrieved 2021/01/05 | Harry Miller - @WeAreFairCop | £80,965.00 |
| Safe Schools Alliance UK, last retrieved 2021/01/05 | Safe Schools Alliance UK | £2,920.00 |
| Help support a teenage girl challenge CPS LGBT+ hate crime guidance, last retrieved 2021/01/05 | Safe Schools Alliance UK | £25,533.00 |
| Protect gender dysphoric children from experimental treatment, last retrieved 2021/01/05 | Keira Bell | £26,965.00 |
| The police should not secretly record us as 'hateful', last retrieved 2021/01/05 | Sarah Phillimore | £32,160.00 |
| LEGAL CASE TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM EXPERIMENTAL MEDICAL TREATMENT, last retrieved 2021/01/05 | Susan Evans | £96,703.00 |
| Help me challenge damaging Transgender schools guidance in Oxfordshire, last retrieved 2021/01/05 | Victoria Edwards | £22,731.00 |
| Fight for Academic Freedom of Speech to discuss Sex and Gender, last retrieved 2021/01/05 | Rachel Ara | £10,565.00 |
| Support Miss B’s Challenge, last retrieved 2021/01/05 | Mrs A | £15,485.00 |
| Total | £314,027.00 |
Conrathe, a former director of both the Christian Charismatic UnitedLife church3 and Premier Christian Media Trust4 has been involved in a number of evangelical and anti-feminist causes, including:
- Going on record in favour of maintaining blasphemy laws that give special legal status to Christianity5
- Representing the Christian Institute in their attempt to bring a judicial review against the BBC for their decision to air Stewart Lee’s irreverent musical comedy Jerry Springer: The Opera over perceived offence to religious sensibilities6
- Representing the homophobic, anti-choice organisation the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC)6
- Seeking an injunction on behalf of a man to prevent his ex-partner from seeking to terminate a pregnancy 7
It is increasingly clear that a number of these legal cases, while purporting to be in the interests of women and LGB people, are providing significant amounts of funding to groups and individuals with links to the Christian far right.
References:
Police who warned man about 'transphobic' tweet acted unlawfully, Alexandra Topping, Guardian, 2020/02/14, available at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/14/transgender-tweet-police-acted-unlawfully, last retrieved Saturday 2021/01/16
Keira Bell lawyer warns on internet coverage of transgender issues, Jamie Doward, Guardian, 2020/12/06, available at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/dec/06/keira-bell-lawyer-warns-on-internet-coverage-of-transgender-issues, last retrieved Saturday 2021/01/16
UNITEDLIFE people information, Companies House, available at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/05195183/officers, last retrieved 2021/01/16
PREMIER CHRISTIAN MEDIA TRUST people information, Companies House, available at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01743091/officers, last retrieved 2021/01/16
Faith in the law, Michael Gerrard, Law Society Gazette, 2002/06/28 available at https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/faith-in-the-law/37331.article, last retrieved 2021/01/16
BBC faces legal threat over Springer broadcast, Lisa O’Carroll, Guardian, 2005/01/20, available at https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/jan/20/broadcasting.bbc2, last retrieved 2021/0/16
Lawyer in the news, Paula Rohan, Law Society Gazette, 2001/04/09, available at https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/lawyer-in-the-news/33182.article, last retrieved 2021/01/16