Report defends students’ right to debate divisive issues

The Christian Institute 30 March 2018

Members of parliament and Peers in the United Kingdom say university students should be free to air opinions on controversial issues such as abortion and transsexualism and it is “unacceptable” that certain topics are being restricted, reports The Christian Institute.

A report by parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) warned that interference on these topics “could be having a ‘chilling effect’ on the exercise of freedom of speech more widely”. So-called safe spaces came in for particular criticism, with parliamentarians pointing out that they “cannot cover the whole of the university or university life without impinging on rights to free speech”.

The report found that “many of the incidents in which free speech is restricted often revolve around discussion of key controversial or divisive issues”. Included in the list of issues were transgenderism, pro-life views, sexuality and faith. Christian MP Fiona Bruce, who sits on the JCHR, told the BBC the evidence that free speech is being restricted is “very concerning”.
Full report on the Christian Institute site

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