Dr. Joanna Howe, Professor of Law at the University of Adelaide and pro-life advocate, has demonstrated the importance of standing up to activists who try to silence their opponents because they disagree with them. 

Writing in the Australian newspaper, Dr Howe has sounded the alarm about threats to academic freedom and free speech on university campuses, following her own experience of being forced to respond to multiple investigations by her employer. The investigations were launched in response to complaints from activists who were trying to silence her because of her advocacy in relation to abortion.

Professor Howe faced five investigations over two years, from both colleagues and public activists, all motivated by opposition to her research critiquing abortion laws in Australia.

The situation culminated in a series of complaints from TikTok activists, leading to a formal investigation into alleged research misconduct, including plagiarism. Despite clearing Dr Howe, the University imposed corrective actions including a mandatory anti-bias course and a formal discussion with her line manager. The University’s handling of the situation resulted in a wave of online abuse and accusations directed towards her.

Dr Howe refused to comply with the corrective actions, and instead took the case to the Fair Work Commission. She was ultimately successful.  The imposed sanctions were removed and an agreement was reached with the university which is designed to protect Dr Howe’s academic freedom.

HRLA assisted Dr Howe as she challenged the university’s directive to undergo a re-education course.

Professor Howe has written to Universities Australia, calling for reforms to address the problem of vexatious and bad faith complaints. She argues this is critical to ensure that universities remain places where free speech and robust academic debate can thrive, free from the threats posed by cancel-culture and increasing political polarisation across society more broadly.

Dr Howe said:

“The rise of cancel-culture, increasing polarisation and the pressure to protect students from uncomfortable ideas they deem offensive have the potential to seriously erode academic freedom and freedom of speech in our universities.

I know this first hand and I’ve won my legal fight. But this battle is bigger than me and we need institutional-wide reform to ensure the robust protection of academic freedom and free speech for scholars and students on campus”.