Edinburgh Women's Aid is to use the equality act exceptions

That’s shocking re Cameron Downing.

And was an SNP Equalities Officer…! It’s utterly perverse.

Resources intended to help the disabled, women and victims of racism and bigotry siphoned off by absolute chancers! “At it…?” They certainly are. Enabled by a legion of cowards in thrall to a cult.

I think the message is:

We had this policy all along but were in breach bcos stonewall/ahead of the law, etc etc… but we are now going back to respecting the law and getting rid of the doublespeak.

I suppose its desperate wishful thinking. And for a while, trans activists got away with convincing quite a lot of people that 'stonewall law' was correct. So they just make any crap argument, forcefully, and hope that people don't ask any questions.

Someone said that but they got ignored by the confidently wrong person man and downvoted.

I'm sure 'case by case' relates to the situation/provision, not the individual person accessing it. So a women's refuge is an example of a 'case' which can exclude male people as part of the legitimate aim thing.

I know, I was replying to @ThePeppyMoose who cross posted with you about the Reddit thread.

This is the Trans Complaints Collective, or something.

Yes, absolutely. But it'll be good to push SNP government to read those parts of the EA guidance. Just to make it crystal clear.

I don't have edit!

In women's crisis services, I men.

They've picked the worst possible area to use this argument. It's very clearly laid out in the EA notes that both general occupational requirements for female staff only and exclusion of all men including those with a GRC from support services are potential examples of "proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim".

Exclusion must be assessed individually, not as a blanket policy. A case-by-case approach is required, and outright refusal without individual assessment could be unlawful

Why do they parrot this risible nonsense. The law does not require a case by case approach, a blanket policy is lawful. No wonder they lose so many cases.

And:

' The exceptions outlined in this guidance therefore do not depend on whether or not an individual has a Gender Recognition Certificate.'

Also:

'It is most likely to be proportionate to exclude, modify or limit trans people’s access where a service provider has limited resources and physical space to alter the way the service is provided or if they are dealing with groups with particular needs; for example, female victims of male sexual assault who may feel unable to participate in the presence of someone they perceive as male.'

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act-2010/separate-and-single-sex-service-providers-guide-equality-act-sex-and#gender-reassignment-provisions-in-the-equality-act

'Example: a domestic abuse refuge offers emergency accommodation to female survivors. Feedback from survivors indicates that they would feel uncomfortable sharing accommodation with trans women for reasons of trauma and safety. The provider decides to exclude trans women from the refuge. It compiles a list of alternative sources of support in the local area which can be provided to trans women who approach the centre for help.'

They didn't really need to look very hard to find the EHRC using this example in the guidance. Took me about 30 seconds.

Being in breach of EHRC guidelines isn't the same as being in breach of the law, and the guidelines have been rewritten and amended over time.

Note how when it suits them they cite the EHRC as an authority and when it doesn't they ignore it or get angry about it?

Trans Reddit are often quite clueless.

EDIT - I was beaten to it , please ignore me :)

Trans Reddit is certain this is illegal… https://www.reddit.com/r/transgenderUK/comments/1j28w2z/edinburghwomensaidhasintroduceda/

“This is a direct breach of EHRC guidelines and therefore the EqA2010.
The policy relies on Schedule 3, Part 7 of the Equality Act 2010, which allows exclusion from single-sex services when it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.
Firstly; Exclusion must be assessed individually, not as a blanket policy. A case-by-case approach is required, and outright refusal without individual assessment could be unlawful.
”

Sorry meant to quote you @ArabellaScott

Blanket exclusion may fail the "proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim" test under the Equality Act 2010. The organisation would need to justify that excluding all trans women, including those with a GRC, is necessary to protect the service users and cannot be achieved in a less discriminatory way.

It can't be achieved any other way, because all "trans women" are in fact men, and it's perfectly proportionate and a legitimate aim to have a space free of men when women need one.

tacc.org.uk - Trans Advocacy and Complaints Collective.

Classic. Whining is their super power.

https://www.reddit.com/r/transgenderUK/comments/1j28w2z/edinburgh_womens_aid_has_introduced_a/

'Edinburgh Women's Aid has released a statement which is tucked away at the bottom of their support services page incorrectly utilising EHRC guidelines to exclude all transgender women and non-binary individuals from their services. ...

Firstly; Exclusion must be assessed individually, not as a blanket policy. A case-by-case approach is required, and outright refusal without individual assessment could be unlawful. The policy states that all transgender women (even with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC)) are excluded from groupwork and shared refuge spaces. However, Section 9 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 states that a person with a GRC must be treated in law as their acquired gender. This means a trans woman with a GRC should be considered legally female and should not be automatically excluded.

Blanket exclusion may fail the "proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim" test under the Equality Act 2010. The organisation would need to justify that excluding all trans women, including those with a GRC, is necessary to protect the service users and cannot be achieved in a less discriminatory way.
Indirect discrimination occurs when a policy disproportionately disadvantages a protected group unless it can be objectively justified.

This policy could disproportionately exclude transgender people from essential domestic abuse support, which may be challenged under Section 19 of the Equality Act 2010.

The policy claims to follow Equally Safe, the Scottish Government's Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. However, Scottish Government guidance supports inclusive services, stating that trans women should generally be accommodated in women’s services unless specific, proportionate reasons apply.

We at tacc.org.uk have sent this on all our social media pages and reached out to Edinburgh Women's Aid, Scottish Women's Aid of which they come under, and The SNP for comment on this breach of legislation. We have also sent them the following guidance document that outlines in a simple format the regulations in relation to single-sex spaces and transgender individuals' rights.'

actually I don't think that many trans people at all would go through the process of sharing (real or imaginary) sexual trauma in bad faith AND repeating that they were born female when they clearly weren't.

Upton seemed thrilled to share his ‘trauma’ and repeat he was female in court.

Thank you appreciate the clarification and I fully agree that it's an important message.