Hi All
With the up coming local elections I wanted to get an idea of the candidates views on women's rights. In Watford we have an elected mayor, the position has been held by 2 people since it was created 20 years ago, both LibDems.
To get an idea of the candidates' stances I sent the following message to all 3 (as well as the local council candidates who haven't replied).
Dear Candidate
I live in xxx Ward and currently find myself politically homeless, having recently given birth to a baby girl I have come to realise the importance of women’s hard won rights and protections and the reasons they are needed. You may have seen the campaign ‘Respect my Sex if you want my ‘X’’, in which women all over the country are talking to local election candidates about women’s sex-based rights and single-sex spaces and services.
Sex is a protected characteristic in the Equality Act. Women’s single-sex spaces and services matter for the dignity, privacy, and safety of women.
Yet some local authorities, have begun prioritising the concept of self-identified ‘gender’ over sex. This filters down into Council policies with an impact on the provision of women’s single-sex spaces and services – for example public toilets and park facilities. Clarity about sex also matters for sports – girls and women need single-sex competitions to guarantee fair and safe competition. Clarity about sex matters for safeguarding children. Some schools have removed single-sex toilets and local authorities have endorsed materials which suggest that what makes a child a boy or a girl is whether they fit into masculine or feminine stereotypes.
I’m interested to know where you would stand on these issues and would be grateful if you would let me know how you would answer the following questions:
Can you tell me what a woman is?
Do you understand that the Equality Act 2010 allows for single-sex services and sports?
If elected, would you work to ensure that our local authority:
retains the concept of sex where it matters in language, communications, data collection, and policy development;
protects women’s single-sex spaces and services, both in direct provision, and where you have regulatory / partnership influence;
prioritises safeguarding the vulnerable, especially children, in the provision of all spaces and services where sex matters?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Many thanks
My Name
I have heard back from all 3 and will post the replies in the order I received them.