English journalist and activist Julie Bindel was BOTD in 1962. Born in Darlington in County Durham, she came out as lesbian at 15. She moved to Leeds when she turned 17, joining the Leeds Feminist Revolutionary Group to campaign against pornography. She became an outspoken critic of the police force’s mishandling of the Yorkshire Ripper case, contending that police were disinterested in investigating the murder of prostitutes. Following police advice that women stay indoors at night to avoid being targets of violent crime, she participated in a counter-demonstration, posting fake police posters around Leeds advising men to stay indoors so “women can go about their business without the fear you may provoke.” In 1980, she reported being followed home by a man who fitted the description of Peter Sutcliffe, the man later charged with the murders. In 1991, she formed Justice for Women with her partner Harriet Wistrich, an advocacy group for women prosecuted for assaulting or killing their violent male partners. She also joined research teams at Leeds Metropolitan University and London Metropolitan University to examine violence against women and children. In 1995, she campaigned successfully for the release of Emma Humphreys, who had been convicted of killing her violent boyfriend, resulting in a change to British provocation defence laws. Bindel has published over 30 books on violence against women, and has campaigned for more restrictive laws on pornography and prostitution. She writes regularly for The Guardian, The New Statesman, The Spectator and The Sunday Telegraph. Describing herself as a political lesbian feminist, she is a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage, religious fundamentalism, gender reassignment surgery, and “cancel culture”. In 2022, her public lecture at Aspley Library was cancelled by Nottingham City Council due to her perceived transphobia. After taking legal action against the council, Bindel received a public apology. She lives in London with Wistrich.