The Times’ columnist Janice Turner witnessed Maria MacLachlan being punched and kicked as she met with others to discuss government plans to allow people to legally self-identify their gender. Turner said the attack reveals the lengths to which activists will go to shut down debate. the attending those and MacLachlan meeting hold the view that men who say they are women are still male, and believe allowing men who identify as female to enter female-only spaces (e.g. toilets and changing areas) puts women at risk. This has seen them labelled as Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs).