Life

BBC accused of “transphobic reporting” and Stonewall “smear” campaign in damning human rights report

By Conor Clark

15th February 2022

A review into LGBTQ+ human rights has highlighted the “serious damage” caused by “anti-trans rhetoric” in the UK.

ILGA-Europe, an independent European organisation advocating for LGBTQ+ people, published its Annual Review into the community’s rights on 15 February.

The report examined events in Europe and Central Asia from January to December 2021 by looking at “legal, political and social developments in 54 countries and 4 European institutions”.

Its analysis of the UK concluded that “anti-trans rhetoric” continued to grow in the country as the year progressed.

“Civil society reports that mainstream newspapers ran one or more anti-trans articles every day,” it stated.

It also mentioned the BBC’s “transphobic articles” which were the source of endless controversy towards the end of 2021.

The broadcaster’s coverage of trans issues sparked numerous protests, especially after the publication of Caroline Lowbridge’s infamous article about lesbian women allegedly “being pressured into sex by some trans women.”

The wide-ranging review referenced this: “In November, trans people and allies held a protest outside BBC’s office for its transphobic articles.

“A number of LGBTQ employees quit the BBC due to concerns over its transphobic reporting.”

The findings were listed under the “Bias-Motivated Speech” section of the UK part of the report.

It also discussed the BBC’s 10-part podcast series on Stonewall, which was met with fierce backlash from a lot of LGBTQ+ critics and allies at the time.

“Activists were targeted by hate and smear campaigns,” the Annual Review explained.

“The BBC for instance, ran an entire smear podcast series on Stonewall. A number of staff quit the organisation due to such attacks and burnout.”

Hate crimes also remained a “serious issue” in the UK throughout 2021, data revealed.

“The UK Home Office annual hate crime statistics report highlighted that homophobic hate crimes increased by 7% and transphobic hate crimes by 3%, in England and Wales,” analysis confirmed. “Media reported that the increase of hate crimes based on sexual orientation was higher, 12%.”

A BBC spokesperson told GAY TIMES that they “reject this characterisation of our coverage.”

“We are committed to providing expert coverage and analysis of LGBTQ+ issues and to exploring topics of legitimate public interest,” they continued.

“We support all our colleagues to have fulfilling careers at the BBC and we’re fully committed to being an industry-leading employer on LGBTQ+ inclusion.”

The full report can be accessed here.