Conservative Party Manifesto - for women and girls

[UltraLineHolder]

Absolutely fantastic. The cynical me asks "why haven't they done this before?" And yea, they've just brought it out now. But it has been over 2 years in the making and the result of some very hard work behind the scenes.

@MNHQ please don't move this to the Feminist Board, it's very relevant here as it forms a part of the Conservative Party manifesto

Why haven't they made these provisions whilst in Government? They think peasants are easily fooled...but the alternative is far worse.

The problem with that is that Keir Starmer's definition of single sex appears to be different to most people's definition. If female includes male people who have a piece of paper saying they are female, and they want to make it easier for male people to get a piece of paper saying they are female, single sex is actually what most people would consider mixed sex, isn't it?

I say this with a heavy heart, because I have always been totally opposed to any idea that we might attempt to withdraw from our international human rights obligations, but if international human rights law now considers trans people's gender identities to be more important than the rights, safety and dignity of female born women and girls, it isn't fit for purpose. It's been hijacked and corrupted by powerful lobby groups who want to create a hierarchy of rights. That's not what human rights law is for.

I could weep. Too late.

IANAL but I think the idea that this equality act change proposed by the Tories would fall foul of human rights laws is probably a bit of clutching at straws.

It is often discussed that repealing the GRA would be difficult for this reason, but I haven't seen any legal expert say the same thing about clarifying the EA.

IAAL and I think you're probably right.

But let's just work through what clarifying the Equality Act would mean in practice. In order to be fully effective it would need to be accompanied by certain legal obligations on organisations. Obligations to have single sex facilities as well as gender neutral ones. Single sex rape crisis groups as well as trans inclusive ones. Obligations to carry out an impact assessment considering the needs of the users of any single sex space (not just the needs of trans people who wish to use them) and to find an alternative solution if the needs of the other members of that space would be compromised by allowing opposite sex trans people to use them.

And - I hate to say it because it sounds so Draconian - fines for organisations which fail to comply and for individuals who deliberately access spaces for the opposite sex when other provision has been made for them. Because how else do you make people like India Willoughby respect women?

And if all this happened (we can but dream) and a representative of the TQ+ community took a case to the European Court of Human Rights, it would at least force them to say the quiet part out loud. That trans people are more important than everyone else.

I agree with you that everyone having access to functioning public hospitals has priority in the heirarchy of needs over some inpatient not getting raped in them but can you not see how insane it is the level our political choices have descended to?
Are you aware that the woman who was raped while an inpatient on a woman-only ward went to the police to report her rape, they interviewed hospital staff, and hospital staff told them none of the other patients on the ward that night were men? I don't know if they left it to inference, or if hospital staff explicitly told the police that the woman who had been raped was lying, either way it's so wrong it needs to be something that pulls people up and gets the NHS saying, we've taken a wrong turn somewhere. "No one will believe you" is one of the most terrifying things violent men say to women. We can't let them be right, ever. So, no, the hospital ward thing is not a distractor.

Do none of you find it ironic that the only ward you should reasonably be able to guarantee to be single sex is the maternity ward which is now swarming with men at women’s request? Back in the dark ages when I was a maternity patient it was a genuinely safe single sex space with men allowed in only during visiting times. It sounds horrendous now, what price privacy and dignity there?

I find it weird that there is so much focus on the theoretical risk one might be forced to share a single sex ward with a TW over the real risk one might be forced to share a single sex ward with a man because the NHS doesn't have enough resources and so breaks the rules on single sex wards.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mixed-sex-wards-breach-nhs-streeting-b2534608.html

That's when you get into a ward at all.

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-35000-patients-wait-for-12-hours-on-hospital-trolleys-every-month-in-england

Do single sex wards, have single sex staffing as well?

At least on a mixed sex ward, if sexual violence does occur, the staff won't tell the police that the victim is lying.

I don’t really care why they are doing it or how long it took them - I care that they are doing it at all, and no other party is!

They didn't do it when they were in power.

The Tories totally shafted women and now they're finding out you can't fatten a pig on market day.🤷‍♀️

Well they’re not because they’re going to be out of power. So they should have cracked on and done it in the 14 years they had the chance. The ship’s sailed now.

agreed. I have been on a single sex ward a total of ONE time. Besides maternity/Gynae, which other wards are female only?

My experience from 2020 is the opposite to what you're saying. My partner was only allowed in during visiting times on the post partum ward. None were allowed to stay past it or before the hours started.
The NHS already doesn't have the beds or capacity, why would we then add people's partners (who do not need to be in the hospital)? It's nonsensical.

Justine from MNHQ has just referred to this article from the MN Twitter / X account.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/2024/06/politicians-ignore-the-mumsnet-manifesto-at-their-peril

It's very good!

Good to see. Why oh why can't Labour see sense on this issue?!?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/pregnancy/5077172-aibu

Outside Covid restrictions fathers in wards is standard practice.

That's a good article @UltraLineHolder.

Lily the point is the NHS can't resource single sex wards, even when they have committed to doing so. 44,000 occasions of people being put on "single sex wards" for the opposite sex.

There is also this - shockingly high levels of rape and sexual assault in the NHS.

https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p1105

Focusing on the potential for TW on "single sex wards" as a risk completely obfuscates this very real, existing problem.

Came on to say this.

That case was 🤯.

But that's the way women are treated under the Tories. They hate women. I can't wait to see the back of them.

That's not true.

The SDP and Reform UK have been consistent over many years on this issue, unlike the Tories. Party of Women are also fielding candidates.

@Lemonyfuckit and @DramaLlamaBangBang

No, it isn't true that 'woman' means biological sex in the Equality Act 2010. This Law was introduced before the meaning of 'woman' became blurred. Obtaining a GRC (which costs £5 and can be applied for online (thanks Liz Truss)) means that a male with that piece of paper can change his birth certificate to say that he's female.
So there does need to be a clarification in law that woman means the female biological sex, and never that which means a man with a piece of papers