More footage from Let Women Speak in Glasgow, which I wrote about here.

This is a speech written by my friend Henrietta Freeman (@hen10freeman) and read by another friend whom I won’t name. Sorry the sound’s a bit choppy, there were technical difficulties.

I was going to write something long and furious on this issue, but let’s just let Hen’s words speak for themselves. Here’s the transcript.

I’m Henrietta Freeman and I tweet about the impact of gender ideology on disabled women and girls. I’m a complete quadriplegic with cognitive impairments including lack of short term memory and speech difficulties. I was paralysed from the neck down and had no speech. I know vulnerability. I need intimate care 24/7 and I only want a woman to do it. This is personal to me as a survivor. When a disabled women or girl who is a survivor of male violence/abuse, have intimate care, it can be a reminder of their trauma. They don’t have the luxury to step away and deal with their trauma because they still need intimate care. There is no identifying out.

In England and Wales; disabled women and girls are nearly twice as likely to be sexually assaulted and more likely to be raped, than able-bodied women. Abuse is under-reported due to communication or comprehension difficulties. Women receiving care are 3 times more likely to be victims of assault than men. Men are 4 times more likely to be the perpetrator. 1,000 allegations of sexual assault/incidents were reported to Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 3 months in 2018, including 47 rapes. It is difficult to find statistics for Scotland.

Why then do care agencies think it’s acceptable to send men to women who want same-sex care? It’s acceptable to them because the majority of care agencies have switched from ‘same-sex’ to ‘same-gender’ care policies. Many disabled women, girls and their families have no idea of these stealth changes. CQC must get out of Stonewall.

If a man, including a Trans-Identified Male, was sent to do my same-sex care, they let themselves into my house and I would be in bed. If he assaulted me I wouldn’t remember until days after, too late to get medical treatment. I can’t feel anything from my breasts down so he could touch me with me unaware. You can understand why women like me are picky over who cares for us.

Same-sex care is a safeguard against abuse of vulnerable woman and girls in society. It is about privacy, dignity and safety. Men’s feelings are irrelevant. Disabled women & girls have lost control of much of our lives due to our disabilities. The remaining control must be the choice of who touches us. If we can’t communicate this, it needs to be same-sex as standard. This also affects disabled girls in schools, disabled girls in care homes and disabled women in assisted living who need carers. There is no relative there to keep an eye on what is happening.

When I speak out I face abuse. I ignore it. This is too important of an issue to remain silent. Those who can speak out must as there are women and girls who can’t. I will never stop speaking out, there is too much at stake. Same-sex care has been destroyed in England and the situation is even more precarious now in Scotland. We must protect our disabled women and girls.

LET WOMEN SPEAK!

Henrietta Freeman

As Henrietta says, when she speaks about this, she faces abuse and mockery, some of it among the worst I’ve ever seen. For standing up for vulnerable women who need same-sex care. This is because some people, captured by incoherent, inconsistent and batshit crazy gender identity ideology think that the feelings of a few men are more important than the safety, privacy, dignity and bodily autonomy of brave but vulnerable women like Hen.

I argued with one of these men on Twitter today, which is what prompted me to make this post. He did everything he could to avoid reading Hen’s story of her 24 hours and to misrepresent my words. He didn’t want to know the inconvenient truth that women like Henrietta are being harmed in service to men’s feelings. It makes me furious.

I’ll be writing more on this subject in the future.

You can watch the whole video, featuring all the talks: (Part 1, Part 2). There are technical difficulties throughout, at some times worse than others, but bear with it if you can.