Bristol Council consultation into trans inclusion & gender identity policy

If you are accessing a service provided for men-only or women-only, the organisation providing it should treat you according to your gender identity. In very restricted circumstances it is lawful for an organisation to provide a different service or to refuse the service to someone who is undergoing, intends to undergo or has undergone gender reassignment” Equality and Human Rights Commission8'

How come? Why 'very restricted'? Why can't I have a knitting club for just women? Why can't we have a woman's book club? Why is it such a gravely serious thing to want to be with people who are my own sex only?

'The Equality Act 2010 allows for the provision of separate or single sex services in certain circumstances under ‘exceptions’ relating to sex.6

Under normal circumstances trans people should be referred to the service that matches their choice of gender expression. This should be part of a culture which recognises their continuing capacity for self-determination of their gender. People who are non-binary, gender-fluid or agender should usually be referred to the service that they feel most comfortable with.

Trans and gender-diverse people are sometimes lawfully denied access to particular services, facilities and groups that are for women or men only – for example some women-only safe spaces, such as refuges for those fleeing domestic abuse, or support groups for survivors of rape and other forms of male violence against women.

There is a provision under the Equality Act 2010 that allows providers of women-only or men-only services to exclude people from certain aspects of a service on the basis of ‘gender reassignment’ where the provider can objectively justify that doing so is a ‘reasonable and proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. Any exception to the prohibition of discrimination must be applied as restrictively as possible and the denial of a service to a trans person should only occur in exceptional circumstances. A service provider can have a policy on provision of the service to trans users but should apply this policy on a case-by-case basis in order to determine whether the exclusion of a trans person is proportionate in the individual circumstances7.

“If you are accessing a service provided for men-only or women-only, the organisation providing it should treat you according to your gender identity. In very restricted circumstances it is lawful for an organisation to provide a different service or to refuse the service to someone who is undergoing, intends to undergo or has undergone gender reassignment” Equality and Human Rights Commission8'

'Bristol City Council will support trans service users and citizens, including non-binary, gender fluid, or agender people, to use the facilities (such as toilets, changing and washing facilities) that best fit their gender identity.
Supporting trans and gender-diverse people to use the toilets and facilities that that best fit their gender identity may be viewed by some people as a safeguarding concern or a breach of the requirement to provide single sex facilities. Whilst some people may feel less comfortable because they do not accept transgender identity or perceive that trans people pose an increased safeguarding risk to others, this is not itself a legitimate or proportionate reason to exclude trans and gender-diverse people from using preferred toilets and facilities.
The Government Equalities Office Guidance confirms that a trans person should be free to select the facilities appropriate to the gender in which they present. The Guidance also states that when a trans person starts to live in their acquired gender role on a full-time basis they should have the right to use the facilities for that gender17.
Gender neutral facilities mean everyone shares the same space for waiting and hand wash facilities. Unisex – or universal – toilets are dedicated, self-contained toilets which maintain privacy for the single user.
Where the Council provides gender neutral toilets this will comply with the Government Regulations by ensuring ‘separate rooms containing conveniences are provided for men and women except where and so far as each convenience is in a separate room the door of which is capable of being secured from inside’17.
The provision of toilets and washing facilities should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis in line with existing guidance18, taking into consideration the requirements and limitations of specific locations, in particular to meet the needs of those who may require longer, more frequent use of separate cubicles to meet their health and sanitary needs.'