The UK’s Open University failed to protect one of its professors from harassment because it was “fearful” that it would be seen as expressing support for her gender-critical beliefs, a judge has ruled.
An employment tribunal found that Jo Phoenix, a professor of criminology, was forced to quit because of a “hostile environment” created by colleagues opposed to her views and the failure of the university to protect her.
“The [OU] failed to protect the [Professor Phoenix] because [it] did not want to be seen to give any kind of support to academics with gender-critical beliefs,” a 155-page ruling concludes.
Speaking after the ruling was published, Professor Phoenix said that universities must now “act to protect their gender-critical staff”.
