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Aimee Knight

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Aimee Knight
File:Aimee Challenor, 2016 (cropped).jpg
Knight in 2016
Born (1997-10-01) 1 October 1997 (age 27)
Coventry, United Kingdom
EducationOpen University
Organisation(s)Global Greens (2016–2020)[1]
Stonewall (2015–2019)
Political partyLiberal Democrats (2018–present*)
*Currently suspended
Green Party (2014–2018)
MovementTransgender rights
PartnerNathaniel Knight[2]
Parents
  • David Challenor (father)
  • Tina Challenor (mother)
Websitehttps://www.aimeeknight.uk

Aimee Knight (née Challenor, born 1 October 1997) is a British politician[3] and transgender activist and former spokesperson for the Green Party of England and Wales. In 2017, she stood for election in Coventry South, receiving 1.3% of the votes. In 2018, her father, who had been serving as her election agent, was convicted and jailed for sexual offences against a child, leading to Challenor's suspension from the party during an investigation. She later resigned and joined the Liberal Democrats, but was suspended from that party in 2019.

Personal life

Although assigned male at birth, Knight says she realised she was a girl around the age of 10, but her parents were unaware of the existence of trans people.[4] Knight and her two siblings were taken into care in 2013.[5][6] Knight came out as trans in 2014; she tells of experiencing anxiety and depression as well as online harassment.[7]

As a child, Knight was diagnosed with autism[8][9] and oppositional defiant disorder.[10] She was educated at Lewis Charlton Learning Centre, an independent special school for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.[11][12] Challenor then attended Henley College Coventry, where she was the college's National Union of Students (NUS) lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) officer.[13][14] Challenor lives with her mother in Coventry and is studying for a B.A. in philosophy, politics and economics at the Open University.[15]

During 2019, Knight went through the process of changing her legal gender through the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the British Government issued a new Birth Certificate recognising Challenor as female.[16]

As of January 2019, Challenor was engaged to Nathaniel Knight, who lives in the United States.[2] They married in December 2019.[17]

Political career

Knight joined the Green Party of England and Wales in November 2014. She was the chair of LGBTIQA+ Greens (LGBT, plus intersex, queer, asexual, and other) between 2015 and 2017.[18] Challenor became the party's equality spokesperson in 2016.[15] According to the Green Party, Knight was the only trans spokesperson for a UK political party.[19]

In April 2017, Knight helped co-found the Global Greens LGBT+ Network alongside colleagues from Die Grünen, Groen, Taiwan Tree Party, and Taiwan Green Party.[20]

In July 2017, Knight was the Green candidate for Coventry South. She received 1.3% of the vote share, with 604 votes.[21] Knight stood for Coventry City Council elections as a member of the Green Party in February 2016[22] and May 2016.[23] She stood in a May 2018 local election.[24] She was not elected.

Knight stood in the 2018 party election to be deputy leader, which closed at the end of August.

In August 2018, Knight's father David Challenor was sentenced to 22 years in prison for raping and torturing a 10-year-old girl in the attic of the home shared by him, Aimee and Tina Challenor (his wife and her mother). Knights's father had been reported to the police in 2015 and charged in November 2016. Following this, Knight chose her father as her election agent for the 2017 general election and also the 2018 council elections. Knight had given her father's name as "Baloo Challenor" on campaign materials, later commenting that he was known locally by this nickname.[5] After her father's sentencing, Knight – who insisted she did not know the allegations against her father in full – stood down from the Green Party's deputy leadership election.[5][6][24][25]

Knight was consequently suspended from the party on a no-fault basis, and the party launched an inquest into possible safeguarding failures as David was allowed to act as Aimee's election agent after having been charged.[26] In September 2018, Knight resigned from the Green Party citing transphobia[27] however Knight continued to cooperate with the inquest. The inquest by Verita found in January 2019 that she had committed a "serious error of judgement" in appointing her father as her campaign manager.[28][29] The report also said that the Green Party, who were told by Knight that her father had been arrested but not that he was a party member, could have done more to investigate the matter.[30]

In October 2018, she joined the Liberal Democrats, becoming the Diversity Officer of her local party.[31][32][33] She was suspended from the Liberal Democrats in July 2019, after tweets appeared on her partner's account admitting to having sexual fantasies involving sex with children. Knight said that her partner's account had been hacked.[34][2]

LGBT activism

In 2015, Knight was the LGBTQ Officer for Henley College Coventry; she protested the college's censoring of websites such as Birmingham Pride, which were considered "Gay or Lesbian or Bisexual Interest" by the college web blocker.[13][14] Knight was an organiser of Coventry Pride in 2016 and 2017.[35][36][37]

After a Transport for London (TfL) helpline employee told Knight that she "didn't sound like a Miss", she successfully campaigned to get TfL to investigate the incident and to use gender-neutral language in announcements, avoiding phrases such as "ladies and gentlemen".[38][39]

In May 2018, the BBC published an article that quoted writer Miranda Yardley describing Knight as a "man". Knight said that the BBC did not contact her about the article before its publication, though following readers' complaints she was asked to comment, and her response was added to the article.[40][41]

Knight was a member of the Trans Advisory Group for Stonewall, Britain's largest LGBT charity. She resigned in the summer of 2019 stating there was a "hostile environment towards trans people in the UK" and that she was concerned for her mental health and safety.[42][43]

References

  1. ^ Knight, Aimee (26 April 2020). "Aimee Knight verified account on Twitter; "I've stepped away from @greenslgbt by the way. I don't support the Green Party any more. Not in the UK (where I'm no longer politically active) and not in the US. In the US they focus on POTUS without the local and state structures being in place."". Twitter. Retrieved 26 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b c "Lib Dems suspend trans campaigner over tweets". The Times. 10 November 2019. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  3. ^ https://candidates.democracyclub.org.uk/person/11832/aimee-challenor
  4. ^ Andalo, Debbie (11 May 2017). "Growing up transgender: 'I wish I could have come out younger'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Gilligan, Andrew (26 August 2018). "Aimee Challenor: rising Green Party star quits deputy race over rapist father". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b Walker, Peter (27 August 2018). "Greens rising star quits deputy leader race after father jailed for rape". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  7. ^ Woods, Lisa (19 July 2017). "Behind the rainbows: speaking to Aimee Challenor about mental health within the LGBTIQA+ community". Break Forth. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  8. ^ Robdale, Emma (12 November 2018). "You're Not Trans... You're Autistic!". Disability Arts Online. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  9. ^ Challenor, Aimee. "Why the National Autistic Society were right to reverse their decision on award winning charity Mermaids". Liberal Democrat Voice. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  10. ^ Ridley, Louise (4 July 2018). "These 9 People's Stories Of Equality Show Birmingham At Its Best". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  11. ^ Packham, Alfie (6 June 2018). "Aimee Challenor: Yes, I'm trans, but I'm a Green party politician and proud of it'- Alfie Packham". Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018 – via www.theguardian.com.
  12. ^ "Lewis Charlton Learning Centre, Ashby-de-la-Zouch". The Good Schools Guide. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  13. ^ a b Cooney, Rebecca (19 January 2015). "Internet block on LGBT websites 'sends out wrong message'". FE Week. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  14. ^ a b Payton, Naith (13 January 2015). "College blocks students from accessing LGBT sites". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  15. ^ a b Packham, Alfie (6 June 2018). "Aimee Challenor: 'Yes, I'm trans, but I'm a Green politician and proud of it'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  16. ^ Challenor, Aimee (1 August 2019). "Aimee Challenor verified account on Twitter; " It is slightly strange how a single sheet of paper can make a person so happy, yet I am ecstatic right now, for me this is completion in the eyes of the law. 5 years of transition, and the Government finally recognises me as Female. I'm over the moon. 💜"". Twitter. Retrieved 5 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ Knight, Aimee. "A short timeline". Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  18. ^ "LGBTIQA+ Greens | Aimee Challenor". Green Party of England and Wales. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  19. ^ Forrester, Kate (28 April 2017). "Greens Take Aim At Lib Dems With LGBT Manifesto Launch In Church". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  20. ^ https://www.globalgreens.org/sites/globalgreens.org/files/Advancing%20LGBT%2B%20Rights%20%28after%20CAS%20workshop%29%20FINAL%20BEFORE%20PLENARY%20APRIL%202.pdf
  21. ^ "Coventry South parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Lower Stoke by-election 11 February 2016". Coventry City Council. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  23. ^ "Coventry City Council (local) election results - 5 May 2016". Coventry City Council. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  24. ^ a b Smith, Adam (26 August 2018). "Green politician pulls out of deputy leadership race over child rapist father". Metro. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  25. ^ Khan, Shehab (27 August 2018). "Greens deputy leadership candidate quits election race after father jailed for raping a child". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  26. ^ Walker, Peter (31 August 2018). "Green party launches inquiry as it suspends Aimee Challenor". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  27. ^ "Activist quits Greens over 'transphobia'". BBC News. 4 September 2018. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  28. ^ "Aimee Challenor: Green star failed to properly alert party of father's child rape charges". 13 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  29. ^ "Green high-flier made 'serious error' by appointing father who faced sex charges as her agent". 13 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  30. ^ "Green party failed to properly investigate child abuser – report". 12 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  31. ^ Mortimer, Josiah (3 October 2018). "Investigation into ex-Green Party spokesperson Aimee Challenor's application to join Lib Dems". Left Foot Forward. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  32. ^ "Aimee Challenor (Coventry Liberal Democrats Executive Committee)". Coventry Lib Dems. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  33. ^ Tominey, Camilla; Walsh, Joani (5 February 2019). "Feminists not welcome in Lib Dems unless they support gender neutral toilets, says peer". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  34. ^ "FRONT PAGE: EXCLUSIVE: LGBTQ+ activist Aimee Challenor no longer in Liberal Democrats post amid probe into sick tweets". Country Observer. 8 November 2019. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  35. ^ Hartley, Laura (18 June 2016). "Hundreds gather for Coventry Pride". Coventry Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  36. ^ "Coventry Pride's LGBT Community Plans and Progress". iCov. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  37. ^ "Coventry Pride Financial Statement for year ended 31st July 2017" (PDF). Charity Commission for England and Wales. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. ^ Pasha-Robinson, Lucy (8 December 2016). "Sadiq Khan looks to scrap gender specific announcements on London trains and buses". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  39. ^ Gillett, Francesca (12 July 2017). "TfL scraps 'ladies and gentlemen' announcements in bid to be more gender-neutral". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 29 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  40. ^ "Twitter 'bans women against trans ideology', say feminists". BBC. 30 May 2018. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  41. ^ Challenor, Aimee (30 May 2018). "It's hard tackling transphobia when the BBC propagate it". i. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  42. ^ "Trans Advisory Group". Stonewall. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  43. ^ "With mixed emotions I left my role..." Aimee Challenor. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
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