Lloyd Burr: Desperate trolls scrape the bottom of the barrel
Opinion
Opinion

Lloyd Burr: Desperate trolls scrape the bottom of the barrel

Lloyd Burr: Desperate trolls scrape the bottom of the barrel
Lloyd Burr
23 March 2023 6:46PM

Opinion: I have been on the receiving end of a barrage of hate over the last 24 hours. It's called a pile-on.

It was prompted by what I said yesterday - which in short was that I'll be at Saturday's protest to show solidarity alongside our trans community.

It's a community that's long had to deal with being the target of hate, abuse, ridicule, and discrimination at every corner.

We all want to fit in, and I'll use my radio show to help the trans community fit in too.

But just like whenever I talk about being gay or gay rights, my opinions riled a whole lot of people.

The vast majority of these people were faceless, nameless trolls who got off on having a go at me. I'm used to that, even though that in itself is pretty shit.

The main retort people replied with was that I hate women. That I'm a misogynist.

And it's ridiculous I have to clear this up - but what a load of crap. I'm a feminist.

I've used my platform - this show - to talk about pay equity, domestic violence, unfair paid parental leave policies, sexism in workplaces, sexism in general, and a plethora of other issues.

I'm such an advocate that I almost refused to write this because I didn't want to dignify the allegations with an answer.

I'm also an ally of the trans community. I believe trans-women are women. They were born into bodies that don't align with their identity and have grappled their whole lives to fit in.

That can and can't involve reassignment surgery - which is a long process with a long waiting list. But the crux is: they are women on the inside.

And to answer all those concerns about women's toilets: trans-women have been using women's toilets for a long time. They just want to go for a wee. It's as simple as that. There are cubicles too.

To all the concerns about how women's spaces will become a hotbed of rape, abuse and perving - why are you blaming trans-women for this?

Unfortunately, rapists, abusers and perverts have always been around and they don't give a flying shit what symbol is on the door.

And we should be doing all we can to stop anyone from being raped, abused or assaulted - an issue that acutely affects all women.

Data from the US suggests one in six women there have been the victim of rape or attempted rape. 

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation estimates that one in three women have been victims of physical or sexual violence. That's appalling.

But data also shows that one in two, I'll repeat that again for the people at the back, one in two trans people in the US have been victims of sexual assault. Half the trans population. And most of them are trans-women.

Another report also found that transgender people are four times as likely to be sexually assaulted than cisgender people.

And that's the conversation we should be having.

How we can protect everyone from violence and sexual assault.

How we can stop the perpetrators of these crimes.

That's how we truly stand up for all women.