Gender-critical barrister avoids punishment after ‘meritless' complaint
Naomi Cunningham, an employment barrister, said she had been told by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) that she will face no further action over the 'meritless' complaint that she repeatedly referred to a transgender female by a male pronoun during a hearing.
Ms Cunningham, who campaigns for courts to refer to men and women based on their biological sex instead of their gender, had been accused of professional misconduct over the incident.
However, the lawyer said the BSB had dropped its investigation and will take no further action. Ms Cunningham celebrated the decision as a victory for those with trans-critical views.
The BSB's decision is significant because it signals the watchdog does not view it as professional misconduct to 'misgender' a person during a court hearing, she told supporters.
'It has been my practice in a number of hearings over the last year or so to use correct-sex pronouns for trans-identifying men whose sex is material to the case,' she said.
'My view is that it will often be important not to use inaccurate language to refer to trans-identifying men in cases touching on issues of sex, gender identity, gender identity theory, and 'gender-critical' belief.
'The Bar Standards Board has taken the view that it is not professional misconduct to 'misgender' in court, at least in a case where the sex of the person 'misgendered' (correctly sexed) is salient.'
Ms Cunningham, a barrister at Outer Temple Chambers, has faced a series of complaints relating to her beliefs and her approach to using people's biological sex pronouns in court hearings.
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