Caroline McAllister Stories

In this unflinching episode of The Unsilenced Project, Caroline McAllister - former SNP councillor, deputy leader, SNP Women’s Pledge Convener and elected SNP Women’s Convener - speaks candidly about her journey from a lifetime of supporting vulnerable women and survivors of male violence to becoming a target within her own party.

Drawing on decades in social work and advocacy, Caroline explains why the rush to self-ID and the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) bill filled her with alarm: “I just felt I couldn’t stay quiet about this because I knew that for a lot of women to engage in public life… they needed that safe space, that single-sex space.” Her detailed email to SNP leadership warning of the impact on abuse survivors was met with silence. Cognitive dissonance, she says, was “such a powerful emotion.”

She recounts the secret launch of the SNP Women’s Pledge, the defiant yellow banner at the George Square independence rally, repeated attempts to sack her as councillor, a rigged vetting process that blocked her MSP candidacy, and the hostile NEC environment where questioning gender ideology made members fair game for attack.

Caroline’s story is one of courage, protective instinct and refusal to be silenced. Essential listening ahead of the election.

SNP Women's Pledge
https://x.com/WomensPledge

Six little words: for the word ‘gender’ substitute ‘sex’
https://www.holyrood.com/editors-column/view,six-little-words-for-the-word-gender-substitute-sex

 

Caroline McAllister: SNP gender reform critic cannot stand for Holyrood
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/caroline-mcallister-snp-gender-reform-critic-cannot-stand-for-holyrood-rj7gfrtgp

Joanna Cherry
Keeping the Dream Alive: An Insider's Account of a Tumultuous Decade in Scottish Politics
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Keeping-Dream-Alive-Insiders-Tumultuous/dp/1837733473

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https://www.unsilencedproject.co.uk/