With Julie Bindel, Sarah Ditum, Maryam Nazaire and Sian Norris

Are we facing a crisis in free speech? Are there limits on what we can talk about, campaign for, criticise and debate? Recent topics of discussion – ranging from the provision of safe spaces in educational institutions and work places, through ‘no-platforming’ policies to religious fundamentalism and the ideology behind the attacks in Paris and elsewhere – lead some to call for limits on freedom of speech and some areas of campaigning. Four speakers – all of whom have faced freedom of speech issues – debate the boundaries and how freedom of speech might be protected and extended in the future: Julie Bindel, writer and journalist; writer Sarah Ditum (recently removed from a panel by Bristol University Feminist Society); Maryam Namazie, political activist, campaigner and blogger; and Sian Norris, writer, feminist activist and director of the Bristol Women's Literature Festival.

Speaker biographies:

Julie Bindel, a freelance journalist and political activist, is a founder of Justice for Women. In 2010 she entered The Independent 's "Pink List" as one of the top 101 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain. Her first book, Straight Expectations, was published in 2014. She writes regularly for The Guardian and is the co-editor of Gaze: A Modern Review. Follow her on Twitter @bindelj

Sarah Ditum writes about feminism, politics and books for the New Statesman, the Guardian, Grazia, the Spectator and other titles. She is also on the executive committee of Abortion Rights, the UK's pro-choice campaign. Because of her critical views on gender, she's had one feature spiked and in December was removed from a panel by Bristol University Feminist Society. Follow her on Twitter @sarahditum

Maryam Namazie is a political activist, campaigner and blogger. She is Spokesperson for Fitnah, Equal Rights Now, One Law for All and Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. She hosts a TV programme in Persian and English called Bread and Roses. She is on the International Advisory Board of the Raif Badawi Foundation for Freedom; is a Central Committee member of the Worker-communist Party of Iran; a National Secular Society Honorary Associate; and a member of the International Advisory Board of Feminist Dissent. The Islamic regime of Iran's media outlets has called Namazie immoral and corrupt and ran an 'exposé' on her entitled 'Meet this anti-religion woman'. She was awarded the National Secular Society's Secularist of the Year Award, amongst others. Follow her on Twitter @MaryamNamazie

Sian Norris is a writer and feminist activist. She is the founder and director of the Bristol Women's Literature Festival, and runs the successful feminist blog sianandcrookedrib.blogspot.com. She has written for the Guardian, the Independent, the New Statesman, and is a regular book reviewer at Open Democracy. Her first novel, Greta and Boris: A Daring Rescue, is published by Our Street and her short story, The Boys on the Bus, is available on the Kindle. She is currently working on a novel based around the life of Gertrude Stein. Follow her on Twitter @sianushka

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