Boys prioritised over girls - again

That’s pretty much it. An entire generation of kids with no boundaries. What could possibly go wrong? What could possibly have a negative effect on child safeguarding?

“Has there been an equality impact assessment carried out in this scenario which takes into account the potential competing equality strands and protected characteristics, in this case sex and self-identifying transgender?”

Now this is a fantastic question. Applauding councillor Sivagnanam.

Oh good grief the educating girls out of wanting boundaries, turning a whole generation of girls in to sitting ducks for sexual abuse as they aren’t allowed to say no.

Strongly agree with @Disco2018 ‘s post half way down page 2.

Thanks Terfulike. I wondered if age might also be to do with 11 year old girls sharing toilets with 17 year olds with male bodies?

Thanks Betty. This bit is particularly vexing.

All schools need to work towards a robust whole school approach towards developing an understanding of trans issues and prevention of transphobia, which will minimise the potential of issues or concerns being raised by cisgender members of the school community including parents and carers about trans children and young people accessing toilets, residential facilities etc. according to their gender identity rather than their biological sex

As with the Swim England guidelines, they need to be "educated" out of their feelings of discomfort and issues of privacy.

I think age just refers to having a different appropriate approach for the different key stages of schools.

With regard to disability I think they may be referring to children with autism or children who are learning disabled. They might find it harder to understand why a former boy pupil is now in the girls changing room.

This is really interesting. I have just read the minutes and the first person to talk to the committee mentions and equality impact assessment. She says the relevant protected characteristics that need to be assessed are sex, faith, disability and age. I see how sex and faith would be impacted but can someone enlighten me as to why these guidelines need to be assessed against disability and age and what the impact might be on these characteristics?

Minutes from 18 June meeting available here

www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/en/our_council/Council-Structure/minutes,_agendas_and_reports/minutes/cabinet/cabinet.aspx

It was the first item on the agenda

Found the actual document in the comments of an earlier article on the same website, should anyone be interested?

www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/Documents/_Committee%20Reports/Cabinet/2018/18-04-30/Appendicies/Trans-Appendix-A.pdf

That article has peak transed my daughter

They were meeting today? So what has happened? No one on the spot???

So councillor Sivagnanam works for Stephen Doughty MP?

This Stephen Doughty MP: blogs.spectator.co.uk/2018/05/why-are-some-mps-trying-to-shut-down-the-transgender-debate/

Placemarking

@TimeLady would you mind if I used the bulk of your text and added some of my own to write to my own MP (who is utter shit) and bring this up with him, please?

Not at all. The Vale of Glamorgan proposals seem an ideal opportunity to open up a discussion, without coming across as a bigot.

Each County Council has a councillor with a special responsibility for schools and young people. Their contact details should be on the CC website. We should contact them all about this and seek reassurance. If they get more than one person contacting them about it, so much the better. I couldn't find any reference to sport guidelines ( at school county level, for instance) on my CC website, so depending on the response I get, that will be my next task.

I've also shared that article with my daughter, who I hope will discuss it with her friends.

Yy Disco2018

“I think we need to get back to reality and trans kids expectation in regards to what transitioning means in real terms, not rainbow fairy unicorn world.

If you feel your in the wrong body and want to change to the other gender, you can do so by changing your hair and clothes, the things you do and the way you act. But you will still be the biological sex you were born underneath and so you will still have to use the changing room, toilets that belong to your biological sex, and you'll still compete in sport with your biological sex. You can't join girl guides or other girl only organisation if your biologically a boy. If you want to change on your own, the school can accommodate that, if you don't want to do sport fine. And when your older you can have surgery to change your outer sex organs, but as your biological sex remains the same there will be some restrictions when it comes to sex segregation.”

^^ This.

@Disco2018

'I think we need to get back to reality and trans kids expectation in regards to what transitioning means in real terms...'

'Telling kids they can change their hair and like magic they're the opposite sex is causing issues, because those kids grow up and then can't understand why there are limits on them, as they are not actually the opposite sex.'

I think this is one angle to the situation not covered often by either 'side'. The 'pro-trans' lobby want to make everyone think trans kids/adults are the sex they present as; and women and, increasingly now, men too are naturally worried about the erosion of women's rights.

But what about the rights of trans children not to fast-tracked through this whole 'issue'? Yes, I know lots of people, including lots of women and specifically feminists are talking about it on places like 4th wave now but does not seem to get as much media attention.

If a boy says he wants to be a girl/is really a girl, etc, and ends up in Girl Guides, in the girls' changing room at the gym, in the Female loos at school, on the girls' team for sports, how difficult is it going to be for him to admit that actually, that was a phase and now he is perfectly happy as a boy?

Or that he is not perfectly happy but actually is a gender non-conforming boy or a gay boy.

And likewise for a girl.

Separate changing spaces, unisex toilets alongside the female and male ones, and unisex uniforms etc mean kids don't get boxed in.

@TimeLady would you mind if I used the bulk of your text and added some of my own to write to my own MP (who is utter shit) and bring this up with him, please?

They are using one protected characteristic to discriminate against other protected characteristics.
Creating a class of people that take priority over all others.
Writing the law so that transgender could use whichever changing room they choose is a violation of the rights of others.

This was raised with Stella Creasy though. Ages ago. She didn’t care that teen girls were forced to shower with a male bodied person (who was allegedly masturbating). She suggested the issue could be fixed by supporting the traumatized girls with therapy or some such bollocksery. The problem was with the girls, not the boy in the girls shower. I think she begrudgingly admitted that wanking was a bit off, but the solution was to tell him not to wank in the girls shower, not to stop him using it.

'The letter goes on to say “the Toolkit offers several scenarios where a male bodied pupil identifying as a girl wishes to use a female only space. In each scenario, the burden of responsibility is placed on the girl or her parent to raise concerns. Staff are also instructed to “focus on the `problem’ being the person who raises the concern, and not the trans individual”. Even an assertive, confident girl might well find it difficult to speak up about her right to boundaries in those circumstances — let alone a shy or anxious girl.”

I wonder when girls are going feel forced to walk out wholesale from PE and other lessons?

I wonder if these fucking idiots who promote this shit would like to shower and change along-side members of the opposite sex.

I loathed taking a shower at school. I'm an only child so was used to privacy, and even stripping off in front of my friends was excruciatingly embarrassing; fifty years on, I can still recall the feeling. The thought that I might have had to do that with a transgender boy in the changing room too doesn't bear thinking about. Parents up and down the country would be aghast at this if they were aware.

We need to oppose this for my granddaughter and your daughters and granddaughters too.

“Has there been an equality impact assessment carried out in this scenario which takes into account the potential competing equality strands and protected characteristics, in this case sex and self-identifying transgender?”

Indeed. I wish more people would ask this question. Its extremely important.

My CC is Conservative controlled, so I'm hopeful of a favourable response - I doubt if many in the party, especially lower down the food chain, share Maria Miller's views on this.

I see what you mean about providing an opportunity to raise the question "from a constituent". Interesting thought....

Brilliant brilliant brilliant
Basically I bet these councillors WANT to say something. But if they just say 'I think this..' they're in much more danger of looking out of touch, and probably wouldn't be able to defend themselves. So you are giving your councillors the excuse needed to raise it, to object, with simple points that are easy to explain and defend. I'm sure your letter will be received with relief.

“Has there been an equality impact assessment carried out in this scenario which takes into account the potential competing equality strands and protected characteristics, in this case sex and self-identifying transgender?”

Nailed it councillor.... This is going to be my go-to question from now on: so succinct, so clear.

Wondering if Glamorgan realise the eyes of the world are on it on Monday?

@Pratchet

I've sent this to my own county councillor for schools.

Dear < >

I’m writing to you to ask for clarification of the schools policy re. dealing with children who perceive themselves to be of a gender which is not that of their biological sex.

It appears that the Vale of Glamorgan council is about to adopt a policy which many of the parents disagree with, as outlined in this article:

penarthnews.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/muslim-parents-and-others-object-to-vale-councils-controversial-transgender-toolkit/

I would like your reassurance that the young people in will continue to enjoy single-sex spaces in schools and council facilities, such as changing rooms, showers and toilets, as well as single-sex sporting opportunities. By single-sex, I mean of the same biological sex, as provided for in the Equal Opportunities Act 2010, as a protected characteristic. Whilst I have every sympathy for any transitioning child, and would wish to see their needs sensitively catered for, it is important that their peers’ privacy and dignity is respected too.

I can find nothing relating to this on the website.

Thank you for your time