Here's mine.
Thank you for getting in touch with me with your concerns about Maria Miller’s Gender Identity Bill. I am aware that this is a prominent issue at the moment and have received several emails from transgender constituents seeking protection from discrimination, as well as a number from those such as yourself who are concerned about self-declaration of gender and its consequences for women and girls.
I hope we can all agree it is vital that transgender people are protected from discrimination. While the UK has made extraordinary progress on improving the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in recent years, unfortunately this pace has not been replicated for trans rights.
However, I also understand that there are legitimate concerns surrounding the possibility that a man could ‘self-declare’ himself to be a transwoman in order to gain access to refuges, prisons and changing rooms designated as women-only spaces.
It is worth noting that the Government has made no definite commitment to changing the law in line with the principles of gender self-declaration. Minister have, instead, said that they are keen to receive further representations and evidence on the availability and use of the exceptions in the Equality Act 2010 from all affected parties, which they will take into account for future policy discussions.
I recently wrote to Justine Greening MP, Women and Equalities Minister, on behalf of several constituents who shared your concerns. I am attaching a copy of her response to this email in case you are interested.
Thank you once again for sharing your thoughts on this Bill with me.
Kind regards,
Vicky
Vicky Foxcroft
Member of Parliament for Lewisham Deptford
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