A Belfast Film Festival employee who claimed she was forced out of her job over her beliefs on sex and gender has lost her employment tribunal case.

Sara Morrison worked as inclusion and audience development coordinator at the festival. In 2023, she spoke at a Let Women Speak rally in Belfast city centre, where she argued against allowing men into women’s spaces and criticized several local women’s organizations. The rally also featured women’s rights campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen, while a counter-demonstration by LGBT groups took place nearby.

Following her speech, a number of external organizations contacted the film festival to raise concerns, suggesting her public statements were incompatible with her inclusion role. The festival then started an internal fact-finding investigation. Morrison went on sick leave citing stress and later resigned.

She brought claims of direct discrimination, harassment, and constructive dismissal to an employment tribunal, alleging that the investigation and subsequent treatment were due to her political opinion. She believes that biological sex cannot be changed.

In a judgment published on Friday, the tribunal dismissed all of her claims. The panel, comprising Judge Sturgeon and member Michael McKeown, found that the decision to investigate was not motivated by Morrison’s political opinion but by the impact of stakeholder concerns on her outward-facing role. It concluded that her political opinion was not a reason for any of the treatment she complained about.

The tribunal rejected the harassment claim, saying that the festival’s actions—investigating complaints, communicating with stakeholders, managing contractual and reputational issues, and operating grievance procedures—did not amount to hostility toward her views or create a hostile environment. The constructive dismissal claim was also dismissed.

Morrison, who received funding from author JK Rowling for her case, reported receiving online abuse and harassment after the rally, which she reported to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The tribunal’s ruling brings the legal proceedings to a close.