Amnesty Redux

letter and SAR

Scot PAG have sent a group letter, jointly signed by its members but redacted from here, and I sent a letter of complaint and an SAR to Amnesty UK. Am posting them here incase they are of use to anyone wishing to write to Amnesty.

Sheesh, being an anti-rights activist takes up rather more of your sunny Sunday than you bargain for!

Complaint - A Growing Threat - The Anti-Rights Movement in the UK

Dear Ms Moscogiuri, Ms Horton and Mr Ruthven,

I am writing in response to Amnesty UK’s report A Growing Threat - The Anti-Rights Movement in the UK, in which Scot PAG is characterised as part of an “anti-rights” movement.

As the founder of Scot PAG and as a registrant of the Health and Care Professions Council, I am concerned by your characterisation and its professional and personal consequences.

The report reaches conclusions about Scot PAG that I simply do not recognise from our published work.

My work as a pelvic health physiotherapist increasingly involves supporting trans-identifying people experiencing unwanted effects or complications of gender-related medical and surgical interventions. By publicly associating me with an “anti-rights” movement, Amnesty UK has created a real risk of undermining my ability to form a therapeutic relationship with a patient before I have even met them.

I am also concerned about the wider consequences for patient care. It is already difficult to recruit clinicians into this field. Many healthcare professionals are understandably anxious about complaints arising from perceived offence or disagreement over language, and consequently avoid working with this patient group altogether. Publicly characterising clinicians who do undertake this work as “anti-rights” risks making that problem worse. In my view, that outcome would ultimately disadvantage the very people your report is seeking to protect.

Your report also has implications for research, collaboration and public engagement. I hope to seek funding to investigate the long-term pelvic health consequences of gender-related medical interventions because dedicated rehabilitation services for this patient group are currently almost non-existent. I cannot know what influence, if any, this report may have on future collaborators or funding bodies. Having a globally recognised human rights organisation publicly characterise my professional group in this way may affect how our work is perceived before it is evaluated on its merits.

Over recent years I have been subjected to abuse and threats of violence because of my publicly expressed view that biological sex is real and, in healthcare, sometimes clinically relevant. I therefore take seriously the potential consequences of Amnesty publicly applying morally loaded labels that may encourage others to misunderstand my work, my motivations and my professional ethics.

I was particularly disappointed that Amnesty UK did not seek to engage with me or Scot PAG before publishing these conclusions. An email asking about our objectives, activities or the evidence underpinning our work would have been both straightforward and consistent with the standards of fairness that I have long associated with Amnesty UK.

I therefore ask Amnesty UK to explain the evidential basis upon which it concluded that Scot PAG - and, by implication, me as its founder - should properly be characterised as part of an “anti-rights” movement. Please identify the evidence relied upon and the methodology used to reach that conclusion.

I have submitted a Subject Access Request seeking disclosure of any personal data held by Amnesty UK relating to me. Once I have considered your response to both this letter and my SAR, I will decide what, if any, further steps are appropriate.

I look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,

Elaine Miller
Fellow of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Founder, Scot PAG

Data Protection Officer, dataprotection@amnesty.org.uk

Dear Sir or Madam,

Subject Access Request

I write to request access to my personal data under Article 15 of the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

Please provide a copy of all personal data held by Amnesty UK relating to me, whether held electronically or in paper form.

This request includes personal data contained in, but not limited to:

• emails;

• instant messaging platforms (including WhatsApp, Signal, Microsoft Teams and Slack where used for Amnesty UK business);

• meeting notes and minutes;

• draft reports and supporting documents;

• internal correspondence;

• databases and CRM systems;

• handwritten notes; and

• any other records in which I am identified or identifiable.

This request includes all personal data relating to me processed during the preparation, review and publication of the report A Growing Threat - The Anti-Rights Movement in the UK. This includes, but is not limited to, any opinions, assessments, characterisations, draft wording, internal discussions, evidential assessments, source material and correspondence relating to me or referring to me.

In accordance with Article 15 UK GDPR, please also provide:

• the purposes for which my personal data are processed;

• the categories of personal data concerned;

• the recipients, or categories of recipients, to whom my personal data have been disclosed;

• where my personal data were not obtained directly from me, the source of those data;

• the envisaged retention period, where possible; and

• information about any automated decision-making or profiling, if applicable.

Where personal data have been withheld or redacted because they relate to another identifiable individual, please identify the legal basis relied upon for that decision.

If you require clarification please let me know as soon as possible.

I look forward to receiving your response within the statutory time limit.

Yours faithfully,

Elaine Miller

Fellow of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy

And this is ScotPAG’s - it’s signed by our members but I removed the names because some people are, understandably, concerned about being discussed in the public sphere like this.

Thank you to my colleagues at Scot PAG and the many other people who have written, “Amnesty UK twitter” has been busy today!

To quote Lucy Hunter Blackburn - “this isn’t over yet”.

Tomorrow I REALLY need to get my book proposal finished and tidy up some admin I have neglected from CAN SG. If you catch me on twitter please tell me off!