Counter rally planned over 'women’s rights' event in Belfast

Police say they are liaising with the organisers of an upcoming Belfast event run by a controversial women's rights activist.

Kellie-Jay Keen is known for her opposition to transgender rights and is due to appear at a Let Women Speak rally in Belfast this weekend.

The original location was changed after organisers said they were threatened.

A counter-event by local LGBTQIA activists will be held at a nearby city centre location.

Police said attendees at both events should have "a clear understanding of their legal obligations".

"As a police service we have a responsibility to uphold and balance the human rights of all of our citizens," they added.

It's being run by Standing for Women, a group founded by Keen, who is also known as Posie Parker.

She said the event was aimed at fighting "against the tyranny of the movement that seeks to redefine… the very fabric of womanhood".

Keen is previously reported as saying the idea that transgender women are women is "preposterous".

There were chaotic scenes during a Let Women Speak event in Australia last month.

A senator was allegedly thrown to the ground as she tried to confront Keen at a protest outside parliament in Canberra and in New Zealand Keen had juice thrown over her.

The Dublin-leg of the tour was cancelled this week, with Keen claiming it could not go ahead because police were "overstretched".

An Garda Síochána (Irish police) said it does not comment on named individuals.

This weekend's planned event follows a local feminist group receiving criticism for screening a film in Belfast which some transgender rights activists have described as transphobic.

Adult Human Female was shown in a room privately hired at the Errigle Inn on Ormeau Road.

The Women's Rights Network, which ran the screening, said it had been "wise to organise [the screening] secretly" because of concerns for both venue and attendees' safety.

Screenings of the documentary have been disrupted elsewhere in the UK, prompting its directors to declare the Belfast event a "significant victory".

Its title is a phrase associated with gender-critical feminism and organisers have billed it as the first UK documentary feature to look at the clash between women's rights and trans ideology.

The film's synopsis asks: "Is it really harmless when men identify into the female sex?"

Marianne Stewart from the organisation in Northern Ireland said the documentary was not hateful.

"If anyone labels it as transphobic then, by definition, they are admitting that trans rights are indeed in conflict with women's rights," she said.

"The backlash does not surprise us."

Ms Stewart added that the Women's Rights Network would "not be deterred" and screenings would still go ahead.

But the Errigle Inn was criticised by some last week after social media users realised the event had been hosted there.

A spokesperson for the bar said the group had booked a private function room under an individual's own name and their attention had recently been drawn to the content of the documentary.

"We understand the screening of this film has caused offence," they said.

The Errigle Inn said it had a proud and long-standing reputation as an inclusive venue where everyone was welcome.

In response, Belfast-based activist group Another World said it was an "insult to women and the queer community as a whole" that any organisation would accommodate the screening.

"To hear that this event was allowed to happen and that no apology has been issued is simply not good enough," said Another World.

"Mistakes happen, which many of us can understand, however how one chooses to deal with it is what leaves a lasting impression in the court of public opinion."

A Manchester-based brewery has since requested that its products be withdrawn from sale at the Errigle Inn in the wake of the event.

Paul Jones, co-founder of Cloudwater Brew, told BBC News NI that "so-called free speech advocates" are upset that his brand was "applying [the] freedom to choose" who their beer is sold to.

"The failure to grasp their own hypocrisy in this regard indicates a lack of critical thought," he said.

"The questions and scrutiny over why one group of women feel attacked by [another] shouldn't be directed towards us in our pursuit and support of a kind, considerate and loving society."

Mr Jones said that instead they should be put to "folk sowing division between groups of under-protected women, intent on blurring the lines between free speech and hate speech".

Last December a screening of the documentary was cancelled by the University of Edinburgh following student protests.

That event, which was organised by a group of academic staff, faced opposition from the University and College Union (UCU) who claimed the film contained content that was "a clear attack on trans people's identities".

It also said the documentary breached the university's dignity and respect guidelines, adding the film "is specifically not, 'expression within a framework of mutual respect'".

Elsewhere a protest in Nottingham halted a screening organised at a church.

Statistics show hate crime is rising across the UK, with record numbers of racist, homophobic, disability and transphobic crime and incidents reported in Northern Ireland last year.

NI LGBTQI+ charity Cara-Friend suggest films like Adult Human Female only exacerbate the problem.

The charity's CEO Steve Williamson told BBC News NI that it opposes all forms of discrimination and as such "do not condone the activities of any trans-exclusionary reactionary feminist groups".

"Trans women are not males who identify as women, trans women are women," he said.