The University of Edinburgh has admitted to hiring “external security providers” to facilitate the screenings of controversial film Adult Human Female.
In a Freedom of Information (FOI) the university revealed that part of their annual budget is allocated to “external security providers, with expenditure being offset by charges to third parties for certain events.”
When the university was questioned whether they had hired these “external security providers” for Adult Human Female, they replied it did, further stating:
“The safety of everyone on our campus is our absolute priority. In some circumstances, to mitigate safety concerns and to efficiently facilitate events taking place on campus, we supplement our own security team with additional support from external security providers.”
The University of Edinburgh attempted to screen Adult Human Female twice, in December 2022 and April 2023, both screenings were cancelled after attracting widespread protest.
A third screening successfully took place in November 2023.
Read More: University of Edinburgh to host third attempt at screening Adult Human Female
The film describes itself as: “the first UK documentary feature to look at the clash between women’s rights and trans ideology.”
A number of organisations at the university, including Staff Pride Network and University of Edinburgh Feminist Society, released statements in response to the screenings describing the film as “transphobic.”
Responding to the information contained within the FOI, the Staff Student Solidarity Network Edinburgh (SSSN), involved in organising the protests against Adult Human Female, told The Student:
“We are not aware of the official policies on bringing in private security other than it is only allowed under special circumstances, with no further detail, which constitutes a major problem of transparency.
“However, we have witnessed private security being brought on campus on several occasions, including during the protests against transphobic events like the screening of Adult Human Female.
“This is unacceptable, and once again makes it clear that the university does not actually care about their students’ safety and security, but instead sees hired security as a way to repress any form of contestation on campus.”
Read More: Protests lead to second cancellation of ‘Adult Human Female’ screening
Edinburgh Academics for Academic Freedom, who organised the screenings of Adult Human Female, said to The Student:
“We were relieved that our screening and discussion of Adult Human Female went ahead in November, following two previous attempts which were sabotaged by a handful of censorious individuals, and following threats of a third sabotage.
“The decision to involve an external security firm was not made by us. We hope that management will take action to address the university’s climate for freedom of expression and academic freedom, so that future discussion events can take place without the need for significant security operations.”
The FOI also revealed that the university hired 20 new officers in 2023, which is an increase of 140%.
Additionally, the FOI revealed that the university increased their budget for the Security section of the university by over £1.4m in the past five years.
“File:Edinburgh – 40 George Square, University Of Edinburgh, Arts Faculty, David Hume Tower (block A) And Lecture Block (block B) Including Steppe – 20140421175025.jpg” by Enric is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.