Athena

Are you daydreaming about Roman amphitheatres and debating philosophers in togas, or do you prefer the slow-motion spectacle of Brussels bureaucrats issuing their final edicts as their world crumbles?

As much as I like both, over the past months I’ve been drawn into the machinations around gender identity ideology within European institutions, particularly the European Union and the Council of Europe. For some time, I tried to get others‘ attention focused on the immersive world of European agencies, institutes, units, recommendations, guidelines and strategies. I’ll admit, it’s all a bit nightmarish.

But it‘s what we‘ve got. Every tale has its own village, villains and story to tell. This one is ours. Across Europe, grassroots groups – radfems, parents, lesbians and gays – and many outstanding individuals have been fighting a brand of gender identity ideology that is backed, enforced and spread by institutional European politics.

I recently talked about this in a WDI webinar: how transactivist lobby groups, backed by political cowardice and compliance, have embedded their demands into EU and Council of Europe policy, bypassing democracy and affecting millions across Europe.

A powerful machinery that frames any criticism not only as hateful or transphobic, but as anti-European, anti-democratic, anti–human rights. You soon end up caught in a cul-de-sac. It’s crazy-making.

An adventure is a challenge almost beyond imagination. So we began imagining – what we could do, and what had to be done. Faced with a seemingly impossible undertaking, we set out to become an unstoppable force against the immovable object. For this quest, we built Athena: a European initiative for sex-based rights, democratic values and political courage. See, I like mythology.

Over the past months, we’ve been building an organisation ready to confront how ideological capture is reshaping Europe. I am deeply grateful to Sex Matters, whose support enabled us to begin this work.

I’m proud that we have brought together an outstanding Advisory Group: Maya Forstater, Stella O’Malley, Anna Zobnina and Frederick Schminke. I’m equally pleased that our Expert Network already includes courageous voices across Europe – and it will continue to grow in the weeks ahead. Almost all of them have faced defamation and suffered personal and professional losses for their principled stance.

In recent weeks, I have spoken with many more who would like to stand with us publicly – but are unable to do so. Lawyers, researchers, health care providers, students, journalists, teachers, writers, women’s rights advocates – in Greece, Malta, Cyprus, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Austria and Ukraine, and parents in almost every country. Speaking out would endanger their contracts, their positions, their income, their opportunities, their families – even their relationships and the organisations they have built or lead. They know all too well the fate that lies ahead.

It is infuriating that, in Europe, speaking your mind still comes with fear. Because you want women to have rights, children to be protected, lesbians and gays not to be gaslit, speech to be free and reality to make sense.

Yet there are many champions across Europe. Each one tells the story of a fallen and corrupted system that only survives on threats and suppression.

There is Lidia Falcón O’Neill, an anti-fascist who fought the Franco dictatorship and founded the Partido Feminista de España, who has been subjected to criminal investigations after transactivists filed complaints accusing her of hate speech over her opposition to gender identity ideology. There is Anne Kalvig, a Norwegian professor of religious studies, who was pushed into resigning amid sustained pressure for not acknowledging trans identified men as female. There is psychotherapist Lotte Ingerslev in Denmark who was dragged to court in a misgendering case. Alexa Faucher in France, chief of staff at Chevilly-Larue town hall, who was fired after tweeting that it is impossible to change sex. Biologist and PhD student Marie-Luise Vollbrecht in Germany, who was mocked and vilified by a public broadcaster on national TV for stating that there are two sexes. Sissy Vouvou, a feminist and leftist activist persecuted under the Greek military junta, who has faced hostility and backlash for her critical stance on transactivism.

And there are many, many more.

Here, I want to acknowledge the pioneering work that WDI has been doing for years, with more than two dozen local groups across Europe that have often become sanctuaries and activist forces of resistance; the fearless and uncompromising activism of Kellie-Jay Keen, whose example of taking back public space inspired Let Women Speak groups in many countries; and the numerous grassroots initiatives and campaigns led with conviction, commitment and creativity. And as the newest addition, we welcome LGB Alliance International and their many European and global members to this crowd.

I am indebted to everyone who helped us reach this point: Maya Forstater, the team at Sex Matters, and especially Janine, Jack and Ruth – our endlessly patient designer, web developer and proofreader. Anna Zobnina, who has been a companion to the birth of Athena, guiding it with sharp analysis and light-hearted humour about our human nature. My colleagues in the steering group of Athena, who carried me through this Herculean task. The volunteers who will support us at #Battlefest where Athena will have her first stall. And everyone who answered my emails and messages, sat through video calls, opened their address books, offered advice, gave us their time, energy and imagination – and had the courage to embark on this adventure.

I remember a conversation I had with a supporter, when I told her about Athena and wondered whether we would make it. She said: Even if we fail, we will have tried, and it will be known.

My favorite goddess is Athena. Everybody has something, or someone, that speaks to them. Athena speaks to me. She is a warrior goddess, born fully clad in armour, ready to fight and lead. So are we.

Tomorrow, we launch Athena.