A trans-identified male was invited to speak in Northern Ireland’s parliament on “gender-based violence” and “LGBT youth education” following the brutal murders of four women in the country in just six weeks.
Northern Ireland has recently been shaken by a spate of murders involving female victims who, in many cases, had appealed to the police for help prior to their deaths. The most recent, Mary Ward, was a 22-year-old mother who was found dead in her south Belfast home on October 1. Ward is the 24th woman killed in the small country since 2020 according to Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid, and the fourth woman killed since August.
But women’s rights advocates are expressing outrage after the matter was raised in Stormont by a trans activist who has previously called for males to be allowed to enter women’s shelters.
Alexa Moore, a male who identifies as a “woman,” was invited by the education committee this week to speak on an inquiry into relationships and sexuality education (RSE) in schools. Alongside Moore, Sophie Nelson from HERe NI, a Belfast-based community organization and registered charity for lesbian and bisexual women, also gave evidence.
But during the meeting, Nelson spoke about the recent killings, stating: “We have an epidemic here of gender-based violence and the prevention of this needs to start in school.”
Notably, Moore has previously made controversial social media posts describing women critical of gender ideology as “fascists” for seeking to uphold women’s single-sex spaces. The concerning tweets were circulated on X today by popular gender critical user @ripx4nutmeg, sparking debate and discussion from users.
“What an insult. How can anyone take a cross dressing mans input seriously when talking about male violence against women? Shame on whoever organised it,” one user replied.
Moore, who describes himself as a “women’s sector lobbyist,” works as a policy, campaigns and communications manager with The Rainbow Project – a non-profit organization that promotes LGBT ideology and activism in Northern Ireland.
He has regularly been featured as a guest for women’s events, including during International Women’s Day, when he was featured on a panel of “young women” to discuss “inspiring inclusion.” He was also allegedly involved in an International Women’s Day march where he led the crowd to chant “trans rights are women’s rights.”
The Association for Women’s Rights in Development, a self-described “feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movement,” also had Moore speak on the Women’s Policy Group’s 5-Pillar Feminist Economic Recovery Plan, which targeted how austerity and cuts to public spending, has been shown to “hit women the hardest.”
This is not the first time a trans-identified male has sparked backlash for being chosen to speak on women’s rights following an incident of femicide.
In December, the University of Toronto in Canada invited a trans-identified male to speak at a memorial ceremony dedicated to the women who lost their lives during the École Polytechnique massacre. Despite the event being dedicated to the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women, the speech instead focused on “addressing transmisogyny.”
The year prior, Fae Johnstone, another trans-identified male, gave a keynote address at Durham College in North Oshawa, Ontario, during the 33rd anniversary of the massacre.