Jennifer Swayne vows to keep posting anti-trans stickers

Warning: This story contains phrases that may be upsetting to trans people.

Jennifer Swayne, 53, was arrested in January after officers saw her attaching stickers to lamp posts in the city.

At the time, the force said it had received reports of "offensive" posters being placed around Newport stretching back to last October.

Activists for the transgender community have accused Ms Swayne of transphobia due to the content featured on her stickers.

What did the stickers say and why are they offensive

The content of Ms Swayne's stickers have included comments such as "no child is born in the wrong body, humans never change sex," as well as, "periods can be awful, but much worse when sharing toilets with boys in school, men at the gym, public, pubs and clubs". 

This type of messaging is deeply offensive to transgender people because it challenges their gender identity and implies that a trans woman is not a woman but a man.

The Argus approached Stonewall Cymru to help explain to readers who may not know much about being transgender why such phrases are offensive. No one was available, despite several attempts, but the organisation's website explains that "if you aren't recognised as being the gender you know you are, it is extremely damaging". 

Stonewall Cymru's website has more information about being transgender.

Ms Swayne, who was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and suspicion of displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress, however is unapologetic and says the police “got it wrong”.

“I say that they [the police] have been Stonewalled completely and that they should think for themselves a bit better and stop worrying about what people think,” Ms Swayne said.

“At the end of the day, they’ve got a job to do but, on this occasion, they got it wrong badly."

The 53-year-old, who suffers from bipolar disorder and PTSD, criticised the police and said the arrest had an effect on her mental health.

“They [the police] left me in a terribly vulnerable situation, they caused me enormous physical pain.

“They grabbed hold of my shoulder – that wasn’t too bad. When they put my arm up my back, I didn’t want to cooperate, so I had to go into a van and lie on a floor. There were no disability accessible seats at all.

Ms Swayne says she plans to carry on campaigning. (Jennifer Swayne)

“They wouldn’t give me any of my medication. I have 17 different tablets and most of them are for mental health.

“After the event, I was expected to go home at 3.30am on a mobility scooter which is powered by a battery up Stow Hill – that is abysmal.”

As part of the arrest, Ms Swayne’s home was also raided by police, and items including stickers were confiscated.

“My house was searched – all my stuff was taken. The police went through it and through it. They went through everything and found nothing transphobic.

“They took hundreds of stickers – about one hundred posters, and a book on different perspectives on trans ideology.”

The items taken have since been returned to Ms Swayne, who also dismissed reports of sharp objects placed behind stickers she had put up around Newport.

“It’s a very very old urban myth. When I was involved in poll tax activities, it was a myth then.”

“Older feminists and other people have said that happened in the 70s and 60s as well.”

When asked if she would continue to sticker following the experience, Ms Swayne said: “Yes, of course.

“I’ve been putting these stickers up for about a year and people gradually started picking up on it and people immediately thought it was transphobic. In the eye of the beholder, that’s not my problem how somebody beholds something.

“It was the CPS that dropped everything, it wasn’t down to the police.

“I will continue to be a feminist activist and I already have my ideas and strategy ready to go.”

What does Gwent Police say about Jennifer Swayne's arrest?

Gwent Police issued an unusually detailed statement about Ms Swayne's treatment after her arrest.

Gwent Police Superintendent Vicki Townsend said: “Following [Ms Swayne's] arrest, officers attended the women’s address and conducted a search after arrest. Further items, including stickers and posters, were also seized.

“While in custody, a healthcare professional assessed the woman at 7.10pm and requested officers collect her medication from her address.

“A quantity of medication was brought into custody by officers at 10.23pm after attending her address.

“The healthcare professional was unable to prescribe it while in custody for safety reasons.

“The woman was released from custody in accordance with police guidelines and there was no legal reason to keep her in the custody unit after her interview.

“The custody sergeant spoke to the woman who did raise that her mobile phone had been taken and she was informed it had been seized as part of the investigation.

“Upon release, the woman was offered transport for both herself and her mobility scooter but declined and chose to make her own way home."

Her arrest sparked a number of small protests in Newport from supporters.

Stonewall runs a confidential information service on freephone 0900 0502020 from 9.30-4.30 Monday to Friday or via email at info@stonewall.org.uk.

Jennifer Swayne clarification

In May, the South Wales Argus ran the above article about Jennifer Swayne who had been arrested after stickers were placed in locations in Newport. The online headline reads ‘Jennifer Swayne vows to keep posting anti-trans stickers’. We are happy to clarify that Ms Swayne denies that the stickers were ‘anti-trans’ and rather that they were ‘pro-women’ and ‘gender-critical’. In addition, we are happy to further clarify that, as stated in the article, police took no further Ms Swayne was not charged with any offence. We have also corrected a mis-spelling of Ms Swayne's name in the headline.