A teenager at the centre of a vicious campaign of hate from anti-trans activists has begged for the abuse to stop. Lily Madigan, from Kent, has been the subject of no fewer than five articles from The Times newspaper, along with hundreds of messages of abuse online.
The national newspaper heavily focussed on the teen in recent weeks – claiming she is at the centre of a national debate around gender recognition reforms after being elected women’s officer of her local Labour Party. Despite the abuse, the teen tells PinkNews she won’t let transphobes stop her from pursuing her political passions.
The post has been favourited more than one thousand times, with comments of support from the likes of Labour MP Wes Streeting and Hollyoaks actress Annie Wallace. Former Labour leader Ed Miliband even showed his support when he followed Lily on Twitter earlier today.
But elsewhere online Lily has faced endless vitriol, including from many adults and experienced, powerful activists. “I’ve found the coverage to be very targeted against me; lots of what I said was omitted or used out of context,” Lily tells PinkNews.
The attention began after Lily was elected women’s officer for her local Labour Party in Rochester and Strood. Months earlier she had lodged a complaint against a transphobic party member, Anne Ruzylo, who held the same post in another constituency and stood down following the complaints. Read more via PinkNews
Please stop. I can’t handle it anymore. I’m so mentally distressed that I can’t sleep or eat or go to school. No one deserves this. There’s only so many times I can read lies or my deadname or misgendering. I’m just a teenager. Please just stop. I don’t want to do this anymore.
— Lily Madigan (@madigan_lily) December 5, 2017