French activist could face prison time for criticizing gender ideology

(LifeSiteNews) — A French feminist commentator faces jail time for criticizing men using female spaces such as locker rooms and bathrooms.

The commentator has already been sanctioned for referring to a gender-confused male as a “man,” but the looming sentence is now drawing condemnation from a United Nations official.

In 2022, Dora Moutot referred to a “transgender” mayor named “Marie” Cau as a man. Cau’s real name is Nicholas. He is the mayor of a small French town.

Moutot made the comments to Cau’s face during a political debate about gender identity issues. She specifically said some men could abuse laws on gender ideology to harass or otherwise cause problems for women.

As Reduxx previously reported, a journalist “asked Moutot whether she regarded the mayor as a woman, to which Moutot replied, ‘To me, Marie Cau is a man.’”

“A  statement released by (an LGBT group) Mousse accused Moutot of ‘violently attacking’ Cau by calling him both a man, and a ‘transfeminine man,'” Reduxx reported at the time.

Moutot has already been fined nearly 5,000 euros for her comments. However, she now faces “six more criminal complaints” that could include up to one year in prison for her and a colleague, according to new comments made for The Free Press.

The feminist said the latest criminal threat came after she made similar comments about the safety of women.

She said:

These new charges target specific statements we made on social media and on our feminist blog and YouTube channel Femelliste. They include our opinion that ‘men’ were ‘demanding access to our spaces’ and the question: ‘On what grounds should trans women’s fear of being mocked in men’s toilets take precedence over women’s fear of being raped?’”

Ironically, Moutot said there has been no investigations into the people threatening her for her comments.

The current and potential sanctions against Moutot constitute a human rights violation, according to a United Nations official.

Special rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem condemned the punishments in new comments.

“The Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned by the reasoning set out in the judgment,” an official news release stated. “Although initially prosecuted as incitement to hatred, violence or discrimination, the conduct was reclassified as public insult.”

Alsalem stated in her own words:

As women, saying that we need to exercise caution around men, particularly where there are reasons to fear for our safety, does not in itself constitute hate speech.

Such expression can be reasonable and legitimate in the context of women’s safety and the debate on women-only spaces. Women should not be sanctioned for expressing concerns about their own safety or that of other women and girls.

She added, “Simply expressing views on sex, gender or the specific needs of women based on their sex should not constitute grounds for harassment, intimidation or sanction.”

Alsalem questioned the lack of response to death threats against Moutot for her comments, saying it “raises concerns regarding equality before the law, due diligence, and the right to an effective remedy.”

The UN official has launched her own investigation into the matter.

At the same time, a well-respected American legal scholar and civil liberties expert rebuked France for abandoning free speech.

“Free speech has long been in a free fall in France,” Professor Jonathan Turley wrote recently.

“Many disagree with Moutot and they are accorded free speech to denounce her views. However, Moutot is not extended the same protection based on the content of her views,” the George Washington University professor continued.

Turley criticized the tactics of “transgender activists” who refuse to debate their views openly but rather use the law to silence opponents.

“As in this case, activists spend more time silencing opposing views than responding to them,” the legal scholar wrote. “For transgender activists, it is intolerable for feminists like Moutot to hold contrary views.”