Gillian Keegan: guidance does not need to legally “define what a girl is”.

NC'd for this.

@Tallisker and @LK1972 I'm actually looking at joining the Civil Service for the famous flexible working arrangements. But reading comments like yours makes me worried I'll either have to bite my tongue against all the batsh*ttery or deal with a lot of flak for being GC. And I'm not sure I have it in me to ignore the 'be kind'ness if I see it going against my professional integrity in whatever sector I try for (probably something around legal/governance).

This might not best answered publicly, but are there any Civil Service divisions which are vaguely sane and not captured?

She's local to me. 👋👋👋

@Musomama1 Is she your MP too?

She is the most awful constituency MP.

The link at the bottom is the petition against teaching ‘gender identity in RSE lessons in schools.

This is what James Esses says about Chikdline’s webpage about ‘Gender Identity’
Childline expressly state that: ‘some people’s gender identity doesn’t match what’s recorded at birth’. This immediately conflates the notions of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ and suggests a narrative to vulnerable children that it is possible to be born in the wrong body. They go on to say that: ‘gender identity isn’t just male or female. Some people can identify as non-binary’. This contradicts the fundamental truth that sex is binary.
www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-childline-was-captured-by-trans-ideology/

Petition against teaching gender identity⬇️
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/618970

GK has told us herself why she isn't going to rock the boat when she says high profile people are getting taken down in Twitter for speaking out about this issue.

GK is ambitious and she will play dumb on this because she wants to be that high profile person some point down the road.

Have some dealings with her, don't expect anything, she'll hold tight, keep voting the right way in Westminster and wait for the bigger opportunity...she won't die on this hill.

“It’s our job to accommodate children, to support them through their life, to educate them to help them become fully rounded human beings,”

I hope she clarifies that 'accommodation' of one group of children isn't at the expense of other children. Supporting one group mustn't pull the rug out from another group.

ResisterRex · Today 15:10
Maya:

twitter.com/mforstater/status/1612088477688139778?s=46&t=rI2UU85Iqclk3B3OVhEzlw

"Schools are crying out for clear guidance on how they can safely, fairly and lawfully respond to demands to "socially transition" children.

It is the Secretary of State's job to give it, not to hold hands and sing Kumbayah with them

Thank you ResisterRex.

I saw someone in replies had added the petition to make the Equalities Act clearer.

Is anyone here on Twitter who would add the petition against teaching ‘gender identity’ in RSE lessons in schools? In many cases it isn’t even the schools themselves doing the teaching but outsourced organisations which do not allow parents to see the materials. Schools may well be crying out for clear guidance, but they are themselves partly responsible for setting up confused children to believe they are ‘transgender’.

She is also preparing to publish fresh guidance on supporting transgender pupils in schools. Last summer Suella Braverman, in her role as attorney-general, claimed it would be legal for schools to refuse to use transgender children’s preferred pronouns and ban them from using the toilets or uniform of their stated gender.

The education secretary appears to support a more nuanced approach. “It’s our job to accommodate children, to support them through their life, to educate them to help them become fully rounded human beings,” she says

It sounds like back to ‘affirmation only’ and no spaces for girls. It also seems as though she has an extremely shallow understanding of the issues - whether that is about the rights under the Equalities Act for sex (biological) based spaces and the need to make them absolutely clear , the real underlying issues of abuse, trauma, being in care, autism, homophobia and peer pressure causing gender dysphoria in the first place; or the gender ideology being pushed at children (see the thread about Childline).

Relevant petition doing really well today

RSE content on gender vs sex www.mumsnet.com/Talk/petitions_noticeboard/4585082-rse-content-on-gender-vs-sex

Maya:

twitter.com/mforstater/status/1612088477688139778?s=46&t=rI2UU85Iqclk3B3OVhEzlw

"Schools are crying out for clear guidance on how they can safely, fairly and lawfully respond to demands to "socially transition" children.

It is the Secretary of State's job to give it, not to hold hands and sing Kumbayah with them."

Totally agree that exclusive provision of unisex toilets is horrific for all children, but especially girls. This should be complained about by parents, as it's not necessarily legal, as far as I understand (IANAL).

The influence of this ideology is more pernicious though, and is often achieved through activist teachers and clueless SMTs.

I'm not defending the Tories or GK, btw, just pointing out the complexity of the situation, and suggesting that blaming the Tories for it isn't necessarily warranted, especially taking into account the alternative.

I agree. But if challenged, the fact you used it would carry some weight

“Keegan supports the idea of “safe spaces” for biological women...

Starmer does this "safe spaces" bollocks too. I don't want "safe spaces", I want single sex spaces which are SAFER than MIXED sex spaces on account of the fact that men, which includes "non biological women" (how am I even typing this nonsense in 2022), perpetrate the vast majority of sexual and violent crimes.

The guidance EHRC issued was non-statutory, which allows it to be ignored by the ideologically-captured.

They are, however, reviewing the statutory guidance, and undoubtedly are coming up against entrenched interests of a lobby + the captured institutions.

The statutory guidance will be interesting when it comes out. Until then we're fiddling at the margins, in my opinion.

The guidance being referred to (trans guidance for schools that the government have been promising since 2017?) must be legally compliant with statutory guidance (safeguarding, curriculum, health & safety, criminal law etc) Along with being in line with anti bullying, sexual harassment etc guidelines).
It's not in Keegan's power to undermine all that but as she's evidently not on top of her brief and with the civil service happy to abandon anything if the trans lobby demand it (see their undermining of the DBS system), it's quite possible that she'll not give a stuff about safeguarding children, education & criminal law if trans groups demand she's in "be kind to us and give us what we want" mode.

Perhaps what we'll get is a fudge, perhaps this fudge will be satisfactory enough to all sides, perhaps not, we will see when it comes out.

There is no fudge that can be "satisfactory enough to all sides". If there is any vagueness the zealots will continue to push their nonsense onto children.

I think a fudge is what we will get though.

I don't think GK is necessarily in a position to be able to legally define 'what is a girl', it's just not in her remit.

I think the same. But the EHRC has issued guidance quite some time ago, and this has continually been kicked into the long grass. In the meantime, we've seen an explosion in trans-identifying girls, and some schools forcing "gender neutral" toilets on children.

Safeguarding is in her remit. This can and should get sorted.

The Tories have bigger issues right now, sadly, what with half a public sector on strike and the other half threatening to go on one.

It will be worse under Labour though, as they are ideologically captured on this issue, unlike the Tories.

Having properly read the article I feel that GK has a massive fight on her hands with the unions planning to go on strikes and deprive children of even more education, as if the COVID school closures haven't done enough damage to their attainment and mental health, so does not feel she can go completely against them on this issue at this moment in time.

And I understand where the unions are coming from too - it's crap for everyone to have pathetic wage rises in rampant inflation environment, my Civil Service department got 2%, not even the 5% offered to the teachers!

Perhaps what we'll get is a fudge, perhaps this fudge will be satisfactory enough to all sides, perhaps not, we will see when it comes out. I don't think GK is necessarily in a position to be able to legally define 'what is a girl', it's just not in her remit.

I find it ridiculous that anyone still thinks this government will protect women and children when they are responsible for it. The appointment of Gillian Keegan to Minister of Health, along with other appointments and statements shows that they have no intention of fixing the damage they've done.

Anyone who supports them on the basis of at least the Tories know what a woman is is believing a lie.

Agreed LK1972. I still find it hard to believe that we're looking at this tory government to protect children and women's rights because labour are so captured by this toxic lobby. But here we are - so many of us politically homeless and watching the social contagion of thousands of children now believing they're born in the wrong body.

This is a thread about the Tory minister for education, of course I'm going to talk about her and her lies.

I'm not a Labour supporter. The way the Tories are going, we won't have any rights left for whoever comes next.

I'm gonna go "both sides".

The civil servants will be dragging things out, hoping for a Labour government, hoping that if the consultation is timed right, they can kick the can down the road until it clashes with the GE, and is consigned to the dustbin of history.

But Keegan cannot not know. She and her SPADs should be all over this like a rash. They should be pressuring the civil servants to pull their finger out. Instead we're getting these woeful performances from her, sprinkled with confused fence-sitting.

Both sides are to blame.

Happy to agree with holding her to account, but at least SOME of the Tories are aware of the issue and have the courage to say something against the gender ideology that have captured our institutions.

Apart from the relentlessly attacked Rosie Duffield I can't think of anyone else on the other side who has listened to their constituents's concerns on this subject.

So I guess my point is it doesn't really make sense to attack ALL Tories for this likely shitshow of a guidance when the alternative is dire.

In this instance TooBig is right to bring up her ineptitude. We had a short period when it seemed that some senior politicians did understand the issues about Cass and social contagion in schools. And yes, it's correct that the civil service is completely in the pockets of the dodgy trans lobby - especially in its desire to transition children. BUT it's right to hold Keegan to account for putting the safeguarding of children at the centre of everything she does - not the adults desperate to trample over the wellbeing and safeguarding of children.