‘Fear and contempt:’ BC nurse’s trans comments cost her $94K and a suspension

A BC nurse who made discriminatory and derogatory comments about transgender people, and paid to have an ‘I heart J.K. Rowling’ billboard put up in Vancouver, has been given a one-month suspension and ordered to pay $94,000 in costs.

Registered nurse Amy Hamm made international headlines when she paid for the billboard, but lost her job with Vancouver Coastal Health in March when the BC College of Nurses and Midwives ruled in a 115-page decision that she had made discriminatory and derogatory statements towards transgender individuals while identifying as a nurse.

“Those statements were disseminated on forums that would have been available to a large audience. This was not a lapse in professional judgment on the part of (Hamm), rather, it reflected a pattern of online behaviour,” the BC College of Nurses and Midwives said in an Aug. 14 decision.

The College found Hamm lacked an understanding of her ethical obligations as a nursing professional.

“(Hamm’s) statements repeatedly challenge the existence of transgender women, conflate sex and gender, and advocate for the denial of legal protections for transgender women whom she describes as feminine men,” an early decision read. “(The regulator) has no hesitation in finding that these statements are disrespectful, hurtful, and harmful to the transgender community.”

The College ruled that the comments she made while identifying herself as a nurse appear to have been designed to “elicit hostility, fear and contempt” at members of the transgender community.

The College said Hamm’s behaviour eroded the trust that the transgender community have in the health-care system.

“(Hamm’s) derisive statements regarding transgender people, and particularly transgender women, are not only contrary to the foundational values of the health care system but also to the obligation of the nursing profession to treat individuals with respect and dignity and to facilitate and promote equitable access to health care services without regard to irrelevant personal attributes and characteristics,” the decision read.

The decision said Hamm is a single mother who has worked as a nurse and nurse educator for 13 years.

She argued her intentions were to advocate for the sex-based rights of women and children.

However, the College pointed out that as an experienced nurse she should have been aware of her professional ethical responsibility to refrain from using her professional designation when publicly expressing her views on the transgender community.

While the College said it accepted she was motivated by a genuine belief that recognition of the rights of transgender women harms the sex-based rights of cisgender women, but that it is possible to express critical views without saying things that denigrate and discriminate against trans people.

“(Hamm) made statements directed towards a marginalized group already facing barriers in accessing health care,” the College said.

The College said Hamm sought as wide an audience as possible for her comments, which continued over three years.

The College argued she should be suspended for three months and ordered to pay $163,000 in costs.

Hamm argued that a two-week suspension and $40,000 in costs were more appropriate.

She said she has experienced considerable adverse mental health impacts because of the regulator’s investigation, which she said amounted to punishment. She “emphasizes the consequences that she has suffered,” saying she is a single mom who receives no child support and is in a difficult financial position.

She now makes a “modest income” writing opinion pieces.

Ultimately, the regulator ruled that a one-month suspension and $94,000 in costs was more appropriate. She has two years to pay.

However, Hamm has appealed the regulator’s findings at the BC Supreme Court, and won’t receive her punishment until the court makes a decision.

Separately, Hamm has also filed a BC Human Rights complaint against the College and her former employer.