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#DifficultTruths

The Tavistock

The noise

The public debate around the work of the Tavistock is getting louder. Kiera Bell wins a landmark ruling at the High Court which halts all new referrals for puberty blockers for under 18s on the NHS in England and Wales. She was prescribed puberty blockers at 16 but later decided she wants to de-transition. The Tavistock appeals and the ruling is overturned. But for many people the narrative of the Gender Identity Development Service is now set in stone

The Tavistock

The broom cupboard

Polly Carmichael became the director of the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock in 2009. “I remember our office was literally a room that had probably been a broom cupboard at one stage”, she recalls. But the decision in 2011 to start offering puberty blockers to people under the of 16, and in 2016 to widen the professionals who could refer a child to GIDS had a major impact. The numbers of people on the waiting list ticked inexorably up, until the clinic felt it could barely cope
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The Tavistock

The noise

The public debate around the work of the Tavistock is getting louder. Kiera Bell wins a landmark ruling at the High Court which halts all new referrals for puberty blockers for under 18s on the NHS in England and Wales. She was prescribed puberty blockers at 16 but later decided she wants to de-transition. The Tavistock appeals and the ruling is overturned. But for many people the narrative of the Gender Identity Development Service is now set in stone

The Tavistock

The broom cupboard

Polly Carmichael became the director of the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock in 2009. “I remember our office was literally a room that had probably been a broom cupboard at one stage”, she recalls. But the decision in 2011 to start offering puberty blockers to people under the of 16, and in 2016 to widen the professionals who could refer a child to GIDS had a major impact. The numbers of people on the waiting list ticked inexorably up, until the clinic felt it could barely cope

The Tavistock

A verdict

In the summer of 2022 the NHS announced it was winding up the Gender Identity Service for children and young people at the Tavistock. Critics of the service celebrated, its supporters were left in despair. In this series journalist Polly Curtis has spent months trying to understand what happened at GIDS. Why has it attracted such criticism and what is the best way going forward of treating young people with gender dysphoria?
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thinkin

Limits in comedy: how far is too far?

This is a newsroom ThinkIn. In-person and digital-only tickets are available.When it comes to comedy, is anything off limits? Jimmy Carr was recently criticised for a joke about the Holocaust which appeared in one of his Netflix shows. The show was available for some months before the controversy kicked off on social media, which might indicate that many of us don’t have a problem with “offensive” comedy until somebody else does. Does it make a difference who tells the joke? Is it possible to tell the difference between performative outrage and genuine offence? Comedians are just doing their job, and it’s down to individuals to choose where they get their laughs. But how do we know when a joke goes too far? editor and invited experts Matthew d’AnconaEditor Grainne MaguireStand-up Comedian and Writer Nathan D’Arcy RobertsAward-winning Writer and Comedian Susie AlegreHuman Rights Barrister and Author of ‘Freedom to Think: the Long Struggle to Liberate our Minds’ Susie McCabeAward-winning Standup Comedian

thinkin

Unspiked: what did we learn from the “epidemic” that never was?

This is a digital-only ThinkIn.Earlier this year, a Tortoise investigation found that last autumn’s “needle spiking epidemic” almost certainly didn’t happen – at least not in the way it was reported to have done. But that’s not the end of this story. Our research unearthed as many questions as it did answers. Why is there no crime code for drink spiking? If we don’t know how big the problem is, what steps can we take to fix it? Why do police toxicology reports take anywhere between three months to a year to come back?  What does the “spiking epidemic” phenomenon of last autumn tell us about women’s trust in the police, and trust between women and men more generally? Might believing alleged victims without scrutiny do more harm than good in the long run? This ThinkIn is part of Tortoise Investigates: Police and Misogyny. A year-long collaboration between Tortoise reporters and members, this project seeks to explore the way police culture consistently permits the failure to prosecute, and sometimes even to investigate, sexual and violent crime against women and girls.If you have an experience to share that would help our investigation, on or off the record, please contact liz@tortoisemedia.com. editor and invited experts Liz MoseleyEditor Patricia ClarkeTortoise Data Journalist and Reporter Vickie BurginScience Director, Forensic Capability Network

thinkin

Assisted dying: is the Bill safe?

This is a digital-only ThinkIn.The question of whether to allow someone to end their life the way they choose was, for a long time, a hypothetical one. Here in the UK, it has now become very real, as the Assisted Dying Bill just had its second reading in the House of Lords. Those in favour argue movingly that a change in the law is a progressive and compassionate step. Those against say that the risks of abuse are just too high. Is it possible to design legislation that reduces that risk enough as to be deemed safe? Is the medical establishment ready for the change should it come?  editor and invited experts James HardingCo-founder and Editor Baroness MeacherBritish life peer, former social worker, and sponsor of the Assisted Dying Bill Dr Catherine Forestphysician and medical director, California Fiona PattenMP for the Northern Metropolitan Region and Leader of the Reason Party, Australia Paul ButlerBishop of Durham Trevor MooreChair, My Death My Decision Campaign Zoe Marley-HyattCampaigner

thinkin

Gender stereotyping: can we stop damaging our kids?

Gender stereotyping: can we stop damaging our kids? From the age of six, children associate being clever with being a boy and being nice with being a girl. More than half of adults believe gender stereotyping they faced in childhood constrained their career choices and 44% say it harmed their personal relationships in later life. It’s one thing to swerve the pink dollies and blue superheroes, but it’s incredibly difficult to avoid reinforcing toxic stereotypes as parents when they were such a big part of our own reality as kids. What can we do, in our schools and homes, to raise a generation of kids who don’t self-censor based on gender? Our special guests include: Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, physician and television presenter, No More Boys and Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free? Ella Smilie, head of policy & campaigns at the Fawcett Society and leading researcher on the report Depictions, Perceptions and Harm: A report on gender stereotypes in advertising.  Victoria Richards, writer, journalist & editor.  Gina Rippon, author, The Gendered Brain: The new neuroscience that shatters the myth of the female brain. Chair: Liz Moseley  What is a Tortoise ThinkIn? A ThinkIn is not another panel discussion. It is a forum for civilised disagreement. Modelled on what we call a ‘leader conference’ in the UK (or an editorial board in the US), it is a place where everyone has a seat at the table. It’s where we get to hear what you think, drawn from your experience, energy and expertise. It’s where, together, we sift through what we know to come to a clear, concise point of view. It is the heart of what we do at Tortoise. Drinks from 6.00pm, starts promptly at 6.30pm. If you are late to a ThinkIn you can ‘SlinkIn’! If you would like to contribute to this ThinkIn, let us know by emailing thinkin@tortoisemedia.com We film our Thinkins so we can watch them back, edit the best bits and share them with members who weren’t there in person. Members can find their ThinkIn booking code in My Tortoise, under My Membership.

thinkin

Tortoise Festival of ThinkIns – Things that cannot be said

Things that cannot be said. Imagine a world where being funny depended on picking on people less powerful than you: women; people from ethnic minorities; gay people; people with disabilities. The truth is, you don’t have to imagine – you can just watch mainstream comedy from not very long ago. There is a better way and, gradually, we’ve been finding it. On the other hand, imagine a world where we’ve become so prickly that we just can’t rub along with each other any more. Some people think that’s where we live now. How do we pick a path between what shouldn’t be said and what cannot be said? Our special guests for this ThinkIn included: Jayde Adams, comedian, writer and actress. Scarlett Curtis, writer, journalist, blogger, and curator of Feminists Don’t Wear Pink & Other Lies. Michelle De Swarte, comedian and TV presenter.  Lynn Enright, journalist and author of Vagina: A Re-Education. Libby Purves, journalist and broadcaster. The Readout  The ThinkIn began with a Ricky Gervais quote and a nod to Voltaire: “If you don’t believe in a person’s right to say things you find ‘grossly offensive’ then you don’t believe in free speech”. How does that apply to comedy and where should the limits – if any – lie? There were fascinating and surprising points of view: Political correctness as power-play: PC language sees itself as offering protection to the vulnerable but there are other theories out there. What if, instead, it has come to be appropriated by precisely those people in power who don’t need protection, and used to silence minority voices? A plea for the return of “good, old-fashioned despising”. Unfashionable, but that’s the point: if we find something despicable, let’s say so. Moderation in all things may sound healthy but what does it do for the blood pressure? And, as so many negative terms have been reclaimed and put to good use, a call for ‘snowflakes’ to be rescued from people who only use it perjoratively: why not allow a greater admission of vulnerability in society – a willingness to say “ouch, that hurts”?  Lessons of the 2015 attacks on the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. In the light of recent controversies about satirical cartoons (from the end of daily political cartoons for the global edition of the New York Times to the sacking of a Canadian cartoonist, Michael de Adder), how do we understand the power, potency and potential danger, of such satire in today’s world? What next? Political correctness-watch. The term has been so bandied-around and used so loosely that it’s lost its meaning. Has it been captured? Is satire on the run?

thinkin

Is it fair to name someone accused of a sexual offence before they’re charged?

Justice must be seen to be done, so, as the law stands, people who have been arrested for an offence can be identified in public. But should all offences be treated as equal, or are some like sexual offences so damaging to the accused that to be arrested in connection with them, even if no charge ever follows, can do irreparable damage to a reputation? How does the law balance the rights of victims of sexual offences and the accused? Is it time to give anonymity for people accused of sexual offences until they are charged? What is a Tortoise ThinkIn? A ThinkIn is not another panel discussion. It is a forum for civilised disagreement. Modelled on what we call a ‘leader conference’ in the UK (or an editorial board in the US), it is a place where everyone has a seat at the table. It’s where we get to hear what you think, drawn from your experience, energy and expertise. It’s where, together, we sift through what we know to come to a clear, concise point of view. It is the heart of what we do at Tortoise. Drinks from 6.00pm, starts promptly at 6.30pm. If you are late to a ThinkIn you can ‘SlinkIn’! If you would like to contribute to this ThinkIn, let us know by emailing thinkin@tortoisemedia.com We film our Thinkins so we can watch them back, edit the best bits and share them with members who weren’t there in person. Members can find their ThinkIn booking code in My Tortoise, under My Membership.

thinkin

The News: Is it still ok to… listen to Michael Jackson?

Monday evenings in the Tortoise newsroom get lively. These discussions are the heart of our editorial planning for the weeks ahead. It’s when we discuss what’s happening right now in the world and ask you to help us filter what matters. Come and tell us what you think, what you know, and what you want us to do about it. Together, we’ll figure out how to get to grips with the world around us.   On Monday we’ll be asking whether, in light of allegations, is it still ok to… listen to Michael Jackson? Watch Woody Allen? Dance to R Kelly? Should we divorce the art from the alleged crimes? What is a Tortoise ThinkIn? A ThinkIn is not another panel discussion. It is a forum for civilised disagreement. Modelled on what we call a ‘leader conference’ in the UK (or an editorial board in the US), it is a place where everyone has a seat at the table. It’s where we get to hear what you think, drawn from your experience, energy and expertise. It’s where, together, we sift through what we know to come to a clear, concise point of view. It is the heart of what we do at Tortoise. Drinks from 5.30pm, starts promptly at 6pm. If you are late to a ThinkIn you can ‘SlinkIn’! If you would like to contribute to this ThinkIn, let us know by emailing thinkin@tortoisemedia.com We film our Thinkins so we can watch them back, edit the best bits and share them with members who weren’t there in person. Members can find their ThinkIn booking code in My Tortoise, under My Membership.

thinkin

The Question Of Gender: Who decides who we are?

Until recently, few of us would have seen gender as a civil rights issue. Many of us would have believed that gender is assigned at birth, and assumed that the number of people interested in gender rights would always put the issue in a different category from other great rights battles: women’s rights, black rights, gay rights, or disability rights. But the arguments have shifted with astonishing speed. Is it now time to say that gender is the civil rights issue of our time? What is a Tortoise ThinkIn?  A ThinkIn is not another panel discussion. It is a forum for civilised disagreement. Modelled on what we call a ‘leader conference’ in the UK (or an editorial board in the US), it is a place where everyone has a seat at the table. It’s where we get to hear what you think, drawn from your experience, energy and expertise. It’s where, together, we sift through what we know to come to a clear, concise point of view. It is the heart of what we do at Tortoise.  Don’t worry if you think you don’t know enough to comment – we all feel that way. So we prepare Tortoise Notes for every ThinkIn – an all you need to know guide to the subject we’re discussing. You’ll receive this ahead of the ThinkIn. And when the conversation is done, we don’t drift off. We’ll send you the Tortoise Readout – our point of view, informed by what we’ve heard.  Drinks from 17:30.
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