Raquel Rosario Sanchez loses legal case over trans rights protests

Raquel Rosario Sanchez took her university to court after what she said was a campaign by other students

A student has failed to prove her university allowed her to be bullied by trans rights activists.

Raquel Rosario Sanchez sued the University of Bristol for negligence, breach of contract and sex discrimination.

But a judge dismissed her claims, saying the university had not failed in its duty of care.

The university said it was "pleased", but that the case had been "incredibly challenging" for both sides.

Ms Rosario Sanchez had claimed that the university, where she came to study a PhD in 2017, had failed to protect her from a "hate campaign" over her links with a women's rights group in 2018.

In her case, which was heard at the Bristol Civil and Family Justice Centre, she said she was targeted because of involvement with campaign group Women's Place UK, which has been accused of being anti-trans.

The court heard activists had protested against a talk by Ms Rosario Sanchez, and labelled her as someone who excluded trans people, and claimed she was "spreading hate about trans people".

But while acknowledging there had been occasions where she had been subjected to threats of violence, judge Alexander Ralton dismissed all of her claims against the university in his verdict delivered on Thursday, saying "no actionable breach of duty has been identified".

A judge ruled the university did not have a legal case to answer

The judge also said the university could not be expected to have an influence on things published on social media.

He also said that although Ms Rosario Sanchez's complaints "could have been progressed in a much better fashion", he had not seen "any evidence of any malice on the part of any member of staff" towards her, or evidence of a strategy to silence her.

'Highly-polarised debate'

A spokesperson for the University of Bristol said: "Following a complaint from Ms Rosario Sanchez about the conduct of fellow students stemming from an external event held off campus, the university has found itself at the centre of a highly-polarised debate around gender identity and rights.

"From the outset, we have sought to remain neutral in our management of this conflict and to follow our internal complaints procedure.

"While we are pleased the judge found this to be the case, dismissing all claims made against us, we acknowledge that this has been an incredibly challenging period for everyone involved.

"We wish Ms Rosario Sanchez all the best for the future, especially with the completion of her PhD."

In a Twitter post, Ms Rosario Sanchez said that the outcome was "unexpected", but thanked everyone who had sent her messages of support.

She also pointed out that the judge had acknowledged she was the victim of "violent, threatening, intimidating behaviour or language".