Girl Guides are now GIRL ONLY!

[Iamwhoiamwhoareyou]

Following April's supreme court ruling, the Girl Guides have FINALLY made a statement and will remain GIRLS ONLY - Finally closing the door on admitting trans members or allowing BOYS to invade female only spaces/camp (which, would be done without informing parents that their daughter would be sharing a room with a biological male!) - I have a previous post in feminism chat for anyone wanting to read the previous thread on this

EMAIL RECEIVED HOT OFF THE PRESS 5 MIN AGO -

As the parent of a young member in Girlguiding, following April’s Supreme Court decision relating to sex and gender, we wanted to give you an update. Many organisations across the country have been facing complex decisions about what it means for girls and women and for the wider communities affected, including us.

Girlguiding’s governing charity documents set out that the membership and people who benefit from our organisation are girls and women. In April, the Supreme Court ruled that girls and women are defined in the Equality Act 2010 by their biological sex at birth.
Following detailed considerations, expert legal advice and input from senior members, young members and our Council, Girlguiding’s Board of Trustees has made the difficult decision that Girlguiding must change Girlguiding must change, following the Supreme Court’s ruling.

From today, 2 December, it is with a heavy heart that we are announcing trans girls and young women will no longer be able to join Girlguiding. This is a decision we would have preferred not to make, and we know that this may be upsetting for members of our community.

There will be no immediate changes for current young members but more information will be shared next week.

Most adult roles, including unit helpers, district helpers and administrative support, are already open to all, so we are confident that no volunteers will have to leave the organisation.

Girlguiding believes strongly in our value of inclusion, and we will continue to support young people and adults in marginalised groups. Over the next few months, we'll explore opportunities to champion this value and actively support young people who need us.

You can find our full statement and updated policy on our website.

We are proud to be the UK’s largest youth organisation dedicated to girls and is focused on creating an equal world for girls and young women. For over 100 years, we have been a welcoming space for all girls to have new experiences, support their communities, build friendships and grow their confidence.

While Girlguiding may feel a little different going forward, these core aims and principles will always be the same. We remain committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect, particularly those from marginalised groups that have felt the biggest impact of this decision.

If you have any immediate questions, we have our special support team in place, to give volunteers, parents and carers the best support we can. We are asking Girlguiding HQ, trading and country/region staff to refer any volunteer or parent who has questions about this announcement. Details below.

Contact [email protected] or 020 7532 3970
All calls/emails will be confidential, and the service will be open 24hrs, 7 days a week.
Find out more, including how this team will handle personal data.

Denise Wilson (Chair of Trustees), Felicity Oswald (CEO) and Tracy Foster (Chief Guide)

@gogomomo2 What you're describing is a perfectly normal 4 year old who is exploring the strange cultural concept of gender.

The problem is adults lying to this child that what she wears and plays with affects who is and the reality of her sex.

She is not 'fully transitioned ' -she is a damaged and likely sterile woman, who was probably just gay, but feared how people would react to this.

Great news!

Hallelujah finally the penny has dropped.
They were probably hemorrhaging members so had to do something about it 😅

I would be very hypocritical of them to adopt any tone other than the one they have. They have always been very openly pro trans in their policies so to say they agree with thee new policy would be nonsensical. They're doing what they have to do, nothing more.

"Girlguiding believes strongly in our value of inclusion..."

...except when that involves including and acknowledging the worldviews and expectations of the great majority of the population.

The whole wording of their statement seems designed to continue alienating most people, who will understandably be welcoming the actual change in policy.

Preferred not to make? Are they absolutely off their rockers? I'm furious! Still means they'd do anything to dickpander if they could!

https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-for-volunteers/updates-for-our-members/equality-diversity-policy-statement/?utm_campaign=1859632_EDI%20update%20for%20parents%202%20December%202025&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotdigitalemails

When will we know what happens to existing members?
We have a duty of care to our existing members and will now consult on how this will work in practice, including how to minimise impact on current members. There will be no immediate changes for current young members but more information will be shared next week.

What will happen now for trans girls and women who want to join Girlguiding?
The Supreme Court’s ruling clarified that ‘women’ and ‘girls’ legally refers to a person's biological sex.
From today, 2 December, it is with a heavy heart that we are announcing trans girls and young women will no longer be able to join Girlguiding. This is a decision we would have preferred not to make, and we know that this may be upsetting for members of our community.
There will be no immediate changes for current young members, but more information will be shared next week.
Most adult roles, including unit helpers, district helpers and administrative support, are already open to all, so we are confident that no volunteers will have to leave the organisation.
Girlguiding believes strongly in inclusion, and we will continue to support young people and adults in marginalised groups. Over the next few months, we will explore opportunities to champion this value and actively support young people who need us.

Who made this decision?
We have taken extensive legal advice and considerations from our senior members, young members, and our council. A decision was then taken as an organisation, by our Board of Trustees.

Did you have complaints/legal complaints over your previous trans inclusive policy?
This decision is not the result of any single complaint or claim. We have always valued feedback from our members and volunteers, and we will continue to work with them to shape our offer under this policy going forward.

Why has this taken so long when the Supreme Court ruling was in April?
Following the Supreme Court decision many organisations have had to make complex decisions about what it means for women and girls. In the absence of guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, we have discussed options with our senior members, young members and Council, as well as taking legal advice.
Given the impact on who we are and how we operate, it was important that we take the time to get the decision right.

I'd say getting sued focused their minds

I think someone started legal action (bravo that person)!

I have never seen a male guiding leader, I’d think it a bit weird for a man to be one, even weirder if he insisted he was a woman.

Very glad that GG has been brought to its senses.

Brilliant news. A weather vane, hopefully, as they’ve been one of the most TRA captured organisations.

👏🏻

I understand from another thread that there is an email we can reply to. Am no longer a parent but prior to covid was a brownie guide leader and district commissioner so would like to be able to write back stating that this is GOOD news and that perhaps they can return to the values of ‘Girls Can’. This was meant to promote the opportunity for girls to try activities away from the male gaze [such as archery, kayaking, abseiling] without the censure/ ridicule/ observation of boys. Kids being affirmed in their trans girlhood can easily join Scouts (where I was also a Beaver Scout co-Leader in a troup that had a good number of girls) to take advantage of mixed sex socialisation and be protected by safeguarding measures adjusted accordingly.

If you're particularly concerned, Scouts continues to exist as a mixed sex organisation without requiring anyone to deny biology. Perhaps you could throw your support behind them instead.

I expect the sadness is due to their organisation being seen as inclusive and now they are being told to exclude trans teenage girls. The actual numbers of them are very low, but they have been caught in this ridiculous culture war which makes it seem like there are millions of them predating girls.

It would be interesting to hear the views of the actual girls who have a trans girl in their pack, rather than adults who have no experience of it at all.

Think you are missing the point MASSIVELY.

a) Why do you think a 4 yr old has decided they are trans? They haven't. Their parents decided it was cool and 'in'.

b) A 4 yr old in Rainbows becomes a 16 yr old in Guides. At 4 - very few issues. At 16, who wants their biological daughters sharing a tent with a biological boy who claims they are and must be treated as a girl? I know I don't.

c) I am really sorry that happened to you. I really am. It obviously shouldn't have happened. But I don't think these 2 issues are linked. Safeguarding policies now means that is unlikely - never impossible - but unlikely.

d) I have no problem with Guides coming into contact with Men. Men are not all inherently evil. Having a just female space is also important - but that shouldn't mean Guides avoid all spaces where a man might be. This is where safeguarding comes in.

d) Comparing a sleepover at a mates house, to nights away with guiding or similar organisations is daft. Very different in terms of controls and safeguarding procedures.

When I volunteered with them I never saw any male leaders. However husbands and dads would often build camp or do admin stuff in the background to help. The circles I was in it was kind of what the men did they didn't want to be involved in the weekly meetings

They will be excluding them - there is no other way. But they are advising how they'll do that next week. There's a Q&A.

Theoretically yes but why on earth would a female person who identifies as a boy want to join a girls’ only group? When I was 11 I joined the Scouts precisely because it was mixed and I was a tomboy, so I doubt this group will have been affected at all.

No, no man has 'fully transitioned'. Nobody can change sex.

They’re teenage boys. Not “girls”.

Same. When DD joined Brownies they'd shed a few during covid times, and they asked for new starter parents to commit to a certain number of volunteer sessions in order to let them admit a bumper intake who'd missed out due to lockdowns etc. They could have more Brownies if there were more adults there. So DH and I divvied it up between us. But he would never have thought to go on camp, though in fairness nor did I.

The comments on Girlguiding's Facebook post are an interesting read. Mostly "but... be kind, right?" with the odd person who actually understands the supreme court ruling and gets that GG had very few choices available to them following it.

And here we have Mumsnet, where the percentage of replies in each camp is inverted. Makes me wonder where we'd truly be if we could truly know where every person stood on the matter.

Until they make it clear that all males currently members of GG are going to be kicked out i dont trust them.
Also I note that their statement says nothing about whether the male helpers/volunteers/leaders are going to be vetted properly or be forced to use male facilities, nor does it say that parents will be told if there's male staff at camps.
This concerns me because trans identifying males were not being properly vetted (as they were considered women), were being allowed to use the female changing/showing facilities and the female dorms and parents were not being told

There's no such thing as a trans four year old!!

Any court case where they go against their self admitted legal advice to be female only isn’t likely to go well for them. I know what you mean though.

It doesn't matter what their opinion is. The law is the law.

This is great news, not the least because it will make a lot of other organisations sit up and take notice, and then take legal advice.