A Christian social media influencer who was sacked by a North London Catholic school for supporting biblical marriage on Instagram in her own time, will appeal a tribunal ruling which upheld her dismissal and denied her right to free speech.
Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Gozen Soydag, 37, from Enfield, had launched legal action against St Anne’s Catholic High School for Girls for wrongful dismissal, harassment, discrimination and breaches of her human rights on the grounds of her Christian beliefs.
Gozen was sacked on her birthday by the school because of Christian beliefs on marriage and relationships which she had expressed and put forward for debate on Instagram in her own time.
A full Employment Tribunal took place before Christmas 2024, at Watford Employment Tribunal.
During proceedings, the assistant headteacher at the school, Jo Saunders, was asked if Gozen’s free speech had been curtailed. In response, Saunders said: ‘We did not curtail her free speech, we just said that she had to take down her posts.’
Gozen’s traditional beliefs on Christian marriage were also compared by Saunders to social media personality Andrew Tate – and deemed ‘incompatible in modern society.’
Handing down judgment, Employment Judge Sarah Matthews dismissed each of Gozen’s claims and said her posts had: “Only celebrated the nuclear family, which could make other students from different backgrounds feel devalued.”
“I stand for God’s blueprint for marriage”
Responding to the ruling, Gozen, said:
“I am devastated and confused by the ruling and am determined to appeal and continue to fight for justice.
“I wanted to work in the education sector and make an impact for young people. This was a Catholic school, and they knew I was a passionate woman of faith. The school’s building is in the shape of the Cross. Every classroom had a Cross and Bible verses on the walls. This was a place where I believed they accepted Jesus.
“My social media channels were about sharing hope through the Word of God, especially for women.
“I stand for the nuclear marriage and God’s blueprint for marriage. I’m not against anyone, I am for God’s blueprint for the family and believe children do best in a nuclear family.
“I want to continue to speak up because traditional Christian marriage in this country is being broken, trampled on, and even marginalised, and what has happened to me really highlights that.
“I believe if this had been anyone else with a belief as part of the ‘inclusive’ culture, I would not be sitting here, I would have been celebrated and promoted. For discussing and debating traditional Christian marriage and family, I was sacked, and that cannot be right.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said:
“The judge’s ruling sends a message that Christians who share their beliefs on marriage are not welcome in our schools. Every type of relationship and family must be celebrated, but if you celebrate and promote the traditional family on social media you do so at risk of dismissal.
“Gozen unashamedly loves Jesus and is a brilliant advocate for women and God’s great and beautiful plan for marriage.
“Gozen was doing a fantastic job in a tough area of London, supporting young women in a Catholic school and had had nothing but praise, until someone complained about the beliefs she expressed and put forward for debate in her own time.
“This is another example of schools, which on the surface have a strong Christian ethos, panicking and capitulating to secular orthodoxy and the ‘offence’ of Christian marriage.
“The judgment manipulates the facts and evidence to construct a conclusion to suit its ends. The whole exercise becomes one of legal fiction which we intend to overturn through the appeal system.”
God-centred ministry
Gozen’s Instagram accounts have over 30,000 followers and include @wifeinthewaiting which is described as: “a God centred ministry that encourages, empowers and equips women, who desire to be married, to position in purpose, dedicated specifically to celebrating the institution of marriage and the traditional nuclear family.”
Motivational quotes posted on the page include: “What Jesus did for us is greater than what anyone did to us”, and “My husband doesn’t complete me, Jesus does!”
On her Lady Gozen page, which is a general Christian ministry page, she had posts, for example, from Hollywood actress, Audrey Hepburn, which said: “The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.”
Despite taking down posts which she was told had caused ‘offence’ to anonymous complainant, Gozen was told that her marriage beliefs were ‘incompatible with the school’s ethos’. However, the school’s mission statement and ethos web page states:
“Our school motto is taken from the book of Micah 6:8 ‘Act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God’ and was chosen by the staff as it reflects the character of our school. This scripture verse reminds us that in our lives we should aspire to treat others fairly, be ready to show forgiveness and compassion and acknowledge our need for God’s help and grace in everything we do.”
Furthermore, the web page states: “We strive to follow the teaching and example of Jesus and to help our young people discern God’s call so they use their gifts and talents to live by Gospel values.”
It adds that: “The school is conducted as a Catholic school in accordance with the Canon Law and the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, and in accordance with the Trust Deed of the Archdiocese of Westminster.”
Before being dismissed, Gozen asked what exactly she had done wrong and was simply told by headteacher, Emma Loveland that she could not have ‘someone with that mindset working the school.’
‘Our students need you, I need you!’
After starting a career in law and seeing young people falling into a life of crime, Miss Soydag was motivated to work in education to help improve the life chances of young Londoners.
Beginning work as a Pastoral Manager for Year 10 students at St. Anne’s in September 2022, Miss Soydag believed she was working for a school that was committed to the Christian faith as, for example, it had Bible verses and crosses in every room.
When she was offered the job, headteacher Emma Loveland said in an email to her: “I cannot tell you how much I feel you should be at St. Anne’s next year. Our students need you, I need you!”
Despite being told she was doing an ‘outstanding’ job, however, without warning on 9 February 2023, Miss Soydag was summoned to a meeting with the school’s assistant deputy head, Jo Saunders.
During the meeting she was told that elements of her online social media activity had been brought to the school’s attention. At no point was she asked or given the opportunity to explain the purpose of her @wifeinthewaiting account.
One video Miss Soydag had shared on Instagram, which she was told was of particular concern, involved a woman wearing Muslim attire talking about her happiness of living in submission to her husband. On occasion Miss Soydag would post videos on the theme of marriage and relationships, not because she agreed with the entirety of what she posted, but to generate debate.
The assistant deputy head told Miss Soydag that this video was concerning because if the same statements were made by a man, they would be deemed ‘misogynistic.’
Other beliefs expressed on her Instagram accounts, included: the holiness of marriage and the importance of the traditional nuclear family. The importance of preserving purity for marriage and not co-habiting before marriage, and the Biblical belief from Ephesians Chapter 5, which says wives should ‘submit to their husbands as to the Lord.’
The meeting concluded with Miss Soydag being told for the first time that all employees’ social media accounts had to be kept private and must not be accessible to the public. She was also told to take down the video, which had generated the initial concern, which she did immediately.
Censored
A fortnight later, however, Miss Soydag was summoned to another meeting where she was told that complaints had been made about other content on her social media pages. One parent reportedly strongly disagreed with the Christian beliefs expressed.
Given an ultimatum that she had 24-hours to ensure that her @wifeinthewaiting account was not visible on a google search, Miss Soydag tried to explain that due to Google’s functionality this would take two weeks.
The following day, Miss Soydag told the Headteacher what she had done to make her accounts less visible, but was told that her accounts were ‘global’, that it was ‘too little too late’, and the beliefs she expressed were openly criticised.
Miss Soydag was then dismissed and told in an email that: “due to much of your extensive online profile being incompatible with the schools mission statement and ethos, and the fact that despite being asked to remove such incompatible information your profile appears to a large extent to remain unchanged”.
Told to pack up her belongings and leave the premises, Miss Soydag, left in tears without being able to say goodbye to colleagues and students. All of this happened on her birthday.
Her lawyers will now appeal the outcome of her case to the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
