Amnesty faces backlash
Amnesty International UK has hastily withdrawn its report A growing threat: the anti-rights movement in the UK – which smeared gender-critical charities, grassroots volunteer networks, evidence-based medicine associations and victim-support groups as “anti-rights” – saying that it is under review.
Published on 8th July 2026, and removed just days later on 10th July, the Growing threat report is a new low for a once-great organisation founded on the rigorous gathering of evidence and the defence of free expression.
A sister report Like a snowball: the growth and impact of the gender critical movement in the UK, published in May 2026, remains live online and bemoans the normalisation of “all manifestations of GC belief, including misgendering and talking about trans people with reference to their ‘biological sex’ and trans women as ‘biological males’.”
Amnesty’s public expressions of animosity and unevidenced slurs towards those with gender-critical views not only harm the reputation of gender-critical groups but also create a hostile environment for its own gender-critical staff, and set the organisation in opposition to its own charitable objects.
Amnesty made a submission in the 2025 case of For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers: its proposed interpretation of the Equality Act was rejected by the Supreme Court, which judged that it would undermine the protection of rights, making the legal protections against sex discrimination, sexual-orientation discrimination and gender-reassignment discrimination “incoherent” and “unworkable”.
Rather than admit that its approach took a wrong turn, Amnesty has doubled down.
The Growing threat and Like a snowball reports present gender-critical views as “transphobia” and groups such as the Gay Men’s Network and Beira’s Place rape crisis centre as shady, nefarious and driven by misogyny and homophobia.
Stephanie Davies-Arai of Transgender Trend received a British Empire Medal for services to children for her work exposing the harms of unevidenced gender medicine. For Women Scotland won the Scottish Herald’s Public Campaign of the Year and the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize given by the Centre for Women’s Justice. LGB Alliance, Sex Matters and FiLia are registered charities, recognised as pursuing goals in the public interest.
Following Mermaids’ failed attempt to have LGB Alliance struck off the charity register, the Charity Commission explicitly warned:
“Demonising and undermining those who think differently is not acceptable behaviour from any charity on our register.”
The affected organisations are not letting the matter drop with a quiet deletion. Amnesty’s postbag is full of letters and its board members are facing calls to:
provide the specific evidential basis relied upon for these classifications, or admit that none exists
withdraw both reports in their entirety
issue a public apologies to the individual groups smeared, as well as to its own gender-critical staff and supporters
commit to comprehensive training for staff and trustees on UK equality and discrimination law.
It is time for Amnesty’s leadership to look honestly at legal reality, respect the pluralism of human rights advocacy, and engage in constructive dialogue rather than defamation.
What the letters said
Children of Transitioners and Trans Widows’ Voices said:
“The inclusion of small, grassroots victim-support organisations such as ours within a report describing an ‘anti-rights movement’ risks serious reputational harm, may deter vulnerable women and children from seeking support, and creates the impression that the experiences and human rights of the people we support have been discounted.”
For Women Scotland said:
“On page 2 of your report, however, you claim that the ruling has contributed to a “significant decline in protections for LGBT+ rights” with no reference to the fact that the Judges considered lesbian, gay and bisexual rights as well as the rights of those covered by gender reassignment and concluded that a certificated sex interpretation would be hugely damaging to these groups.”
Gay Men’s Network said:
“We consider that your report is a deeply silly and malicious piece of low politics designed to ‘evidence launder’ a list of undesirable gay and lesbian organisations and actors such that it can be quoted by those who seek, (like you) to control gay and lesbian free speech and open discourse.”
LGB Alliance said:
“Having lost the argument at the UK Supreme Court, Amnesty has now taken the extraordinary step of branding LGB Alliance (along with For Women Scotland and numerous other organisations) part of an ‘anti-rights’ movement. It somehow neglected to add the Supreme Court.”
Sex Matters said:
“Allowing individual staff, campaigning teams or activists to use Amnesty’s name to launch campaigns that are not based on a solid understanding of human rights and the Equality Act is a reckless approach to governance and reputational, regulatory and legal risk, and a diversion from your mission.”
“Beira’s Place hasn’t sent anything. Yet.”
Amnesty International used to focus on actual human rights abuses. Prisoners, marginalised groups, war zones... now they're all about trans too? Is the entire charity sector deranged now?
Wonder when/if the BBC will pick up the story?