Tag: Culture

When considering speech that could ‘harm’, there is a gender disparity here, with women being particularly pro-emotional safety and therefore censorious – important when the majority of social work students are women. This censorious tendency appears to be based on an underpinning assumption that offending ideas cause actual ‘harm’. This assumption is a contested idea… Continue reading Free Speech Part 23

Recent research has demonstrated that, in general, a minimum of only 30% of students would choose a free speech position on, for example, inviting controversial speakers to come to campus. Furthermore, a minimum of 20% would choose no-platforming in the interests of the emotional safety of minority groups. There is, therefore, a significant malleable ‘undecided’… Continue reading Free Speech Part 22

It’s been proposed that new measures to strengthen free speech in universities is needed in that there have been recent attempts to censor speech and quell diverse or controversial opinions. There may be some features of the current cohort of social work students that lend themselves to a potential difficulty with free academic enquiry and… Continue reading Free Speech Part20

The Government has vowed to tackle extremism ‘in all its forms’. But who are ‘extremists’? Terrorists? Of course. But what about political activists? Religious groups? Anti-religious groups? Trade unionists? Environmental campaigners? Are these people extremists too? The Government must tackle terrorism and criminal behaviour. But defining extremism too widely risks harming free speech. https://vk.com/video677203037_456239335