[4] In an open letter, 368 of her colleagues had described the Network as "transphobic" and her Head of Discipline had compared her to a "racist uncle" which, the tribunal found, amounted to harassment.
[14] Reviewers of her books describe "the paradox that cannot have escaped the attention of many readers in the field: that the apparent increase in freedom, choice, and diversity in sexual matters is conversely and simultaneously matched by a 'proliferation of laws, policies and guidelines which seek to determine the complex, vast and ever-increasing rules of engagement'".
[17][18][19] In November 2021, Phoenix welcomed legal action against the University of Essex, claiming its policies breach free speech legislation.
[22] She has stated that she hopes the "case will help to establish a line in the sand and make it clear that baseless accusations of transphobia simply for standing up for the rights of women is harassment especially when made in an academic context".
The judgment said that she had been constructively unfairly dismissed, and that she had suffered victimisation, harassment (which included being compared to a "racist uncle"), and direct discrimination by the Open University, which did not allow her to speak about her negative treatment in department meetings due to her research, and failed to protect her from deplatforming campaigns and being called a "transphobe" or "TERF" on social media.
[22] In November 2021, the Open University's vice-chancellor's executive stated that "the formation of the GCRN was compatible with academic freedom, while also acknowledging that some staff found the content of the group's work to be challenging or concerning" and undertook to review of its own policies and procedures.
[31] In an apology issued following the 2024 tribunal ruling, Professor Tim Blackman, Vice-Chancellor of The Open University, stated that "The University has supported and continues to support the work of the Gender Critical Research Network (GCRN) as part of the many important research activities that take place at the OU", and "The tribunal ruling makes it clear that we should have acted differently to address the impact of this reaction on Professor Phoenix and the working environment that she experienced.