Legal rights of women and girls to single-sex spaces

It is going to take time to get the full clarity but this is inevitably going to shift to sex based provision plus proportionate gender neutral provision for those wishing alternatives. There is no other way to balance all needs as opposed to bin female rights, access and inclusion, it will have to end this way however cross it makes male people not to be allowed to be more important than females.

Yes, I am hopeful that she and Truss (much as I despise them in every other respect) will lean on the relevant Departments to clarify that the schools and workplace regulations mean sex, not gender identity. We need it in writing so that schools cannot weasel out of their obligations.

Then we need primary legislation to give women a right to single sex facilities/services. It’s concerning how many women- like the OP - think we already have that right, when we absolutely don’t.

No child can have a GRC, but it is not clear in the Regulations whether ‘boys and girls’ means sex or gender identity. I would argue strongly that it means the former because the document refers to sex in other sections and does not mention gender. But unfortunately neither the 2012 Regulations nor the 2015 DoE Guidance are explicit on this point.

It is clear as no child can be legally considered the opposite sex

Schools must by law provide single sex toilets for children over 8, and sleeping dormitories

Unfortunately, the Regulations about school toilets do not use the term 'single sex', but instead refer to 'boys' and 'girls', because they were written in a bygone age (2012), when it was assumed that everyone knew what that meant. The exact wording is:

Separate toilet facilities for boys and girls aged 8 years or over must be provided except where the toilet facility is provided in a room that can be secured from the inside and that is intended for use by one pupil at a time

So it is clear that schools have a duty to provide two sets of toilets but, unfortunately, it is not clear cut that they have to be segregated by sex, as opposed to gender.

Link

www.gov.uk/government/speeches/equalities-and-rights-conflict-and-the-need-for-clarity

The attorney general said:

Yes, it is lawful for a mixed school to refuse to allow a biologically and legally male child, who identifies as a trans-girl, from using the girls’ toilets. This does not constitute direct sex discrimination and is not unlawful indirect discrimination on grounds of gender reassignment. Indeed, if the school did allow a trans-girl to use the girl’s toilets this might be unlawful indirect discrimination against the female children. Further, in law, there is a duty to provide separate single sex toilets, a breach of which would be unlawful under the School premises (England) Regulations 2012 and the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

She says allowing the girls toilet to become mixed sex could be indirect discrimination against girls.

Thanks for posting that first link. I'd been wondering what the result of the consultation wasps I may need to have this conversation at my workplace soon.

Schools must by law provide single sex toilets for children over 8, and sleeping dormitories.
The workplace must by law provide single sex toilets. They can provide mixed sex toilets but they should be in addition to the single sex ones.

Service providers can provide single sex services but they don't have to. They are exemptions from the usual ban on discrimination on the grounds of sex. (if they exist now they are probably legal, since the illegal ones have already been challenged.)

Imo if we can't rely on service providers to use The Equality Act exemptions correctly then we need to start using Trading Standards where possible, and challenge the incorrect use of 'women'.

For schools Heath and safety legislation states separate facilities for male and female students rather than EA. The DfE is apparently intending to provide guidance wrt safeguarding and toilets/changing facilities 'soon'....

My understanding is this:

• schools must provide separate toilets for males and females. Since children cannot transition this means that only biological females can use the female toilet. Any student that says they are trans can either use the toilet of their biological sex or need a separate provision
• organisations should provide separate male and female toilets. Since some individuals have a GRC they are 'legally' classed as the opposite sex but are still biologically either male or female. Since you cannot ask to see someone's GRC then there is no way of proving this (other than they are obviously male in the case of 99.9% of transwomen). So whilst they are providing separate toilets the onus is on the user to use the toilet based on their biological sex. Unfortunately many transwomen seem to need to be validated by using womens toilets and single sex spaces.

The only way to stop this is to change the definition of having a GRC to say that biological sex remains the same (which is does) but gender is recognised as different (but doens't mean anything really).

I forgot my usual disclaimer that stating what the Law says does not mean I agree with it. Silly me.

Male and female are the 2 sexes.

Separate male and female facilities. Sadly not necessarily single sex.

i believe that schools are legally required cough cough to provide single sex loos to children over 8.

I think you misunderstand. There is no right to single-sex spaces under the EA - unfortunately. The EA allows organisation to provide single sex facilities/services if they choose to do so in certain circumstances.