Andrew Marr/Amber Rudd Womens Safe Spaces

[Kikashi]

Did anyone see this this morning - I just caught the tail end of it and have the flu so took me a minute or so to catch on to what they were talking about. Amber Rudd seemed clear that there would be a review of the effect on womens safe spaces ( and perhaps exemptions). She is waiting to see what Women's Aid suggest in their review.

Was that the gist of it? That twat Marr made a comment about "Transwomen who weren't fully biological women yet" - nearly choked on my coffee!!

Andrew Marr is a very clever geezer and even he can't get his head round it. Maybe he thinks a woman is simply a man without a penis? ffs Andy.

Yes. She didn't come off too badly. She said several times that they'll wait to see what the Women's Aid review finds. Seemed like government is a bit hesitant about making its own pronouncements. She also said several times everything will be looked at 'very carefully'. The key bit was that exemptions for women only spaces/roles will be kept. BUT that of course rests on how/who defines who a woman is, so it seemed to me that going for self-identification would still posea problem.

I think Marr, like many people, is now baffled about what terminology he is supposed to be using. It's worth cutting him some slack on that.

I didn't like most of what she said (already mentioned this on other threads).

It's all very well to say "let's see how the Women's Aid review pans out" - it makes it look like you care. But unless you acknowledge the hideous and politicised pressure these orgs are being put under to open up to males, you're not acknowledging feminist concerns at all. You're just paying lip service to genuine concerns.

The one good thing she did say unequivocally was that the Tories will not remove the single sex exemptions from the Equality Act.

This means that however many orgs capitulate now and in the near future, women will still retain the right to organise services on a single sex basis. So we will still be able to rebuild in the future, when the inevitable crash and burn of transactivism occurs in some Savile-esque scandal or other. All will not be lost.

LanceCleg
I was also relieved that she made the comment about not removing single sex exemptions from the Equality Act.
So there's a clear question for the misogynist Labour party. Will they maintain the single sex exemptions in the Equality Act ? Yes or no?

Yes, one of my friends mentioned this to me about Amber Rudd. Will need to watch it I think. Apparently it was a quite fleeting comment but it seemed clear that she actually did care about it rather than these ridiculous 'transwomen are women' parroter MPs?

Am I missing something?

If men can self id as women then the sex exemptions surely won't mean jack shit?

That's the loophole Certain. If men can declare they are women on their own say so, the exemption won't make any difference. Self-identification continues to be the big issue.

I agree. Sex based exemptions are pointless - in fact sex segregation is pointless - if anyone can pick their sex irrelevant of their biology.

If they are saying that there are some situations in which a man canNOT access those exempted spaces no matter how they identify that needs to be said. Clearly. Because we're seeing group after group open the category of 'women' to 'anyone who feels like ticking that box'.

The Equality Act single sex exemptions apply on the basis of sex and can be used to exclude male GRC holders. That's why it's important to maintain them if the GRA gets amended.

It relies on organisations asserting and invoking them, but the point is that they would still be able to provided it's to achieve a proportionate aim (ie trauma triggering in refuges, safeguarding in vulnerable situations, etc).

Amber Rudd was great. She was cautious about Women’s Aid.

The point she made was that the exception to the Equality Act that allows the exception for women’s refuge to employ women-only would stay.

My understanding was as long as someone is a man, they will not work in a women’s refuge.

The Equality Act single sex exemptions apply on the basis of sex and can be used to exclude male GRC holders.

Is that right Langcleg? V happy to hear it but I thought once you had a GRC that was it tbh.

fairplayforwomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/handout_EA2010.pdf

There you go. Where it says on the grounds of both sex and gender reassignment it means you can exclude TIMs with a GRC.

Thank you. That actually gives me a bit of hope for life after the GRA - that legislation already exists which organisations can use once everyone realises what a massive fuck up self id is.

That actually gives me a bit of hope for life after the GRA - that legislation already exists which organisations can use once everyone realises what a massive fuck up self id is.

Exactly. If these exemptions aren't removed then we still have a fighting chance to rebuild even after GRA reformation.

This is NOT what the Tories were saying after Maria Miller published her report. Her report recommended removing them. The Tories have rolled back since then - I know it's limited but it is a roll back. Ministers and MPs have also confirmed that there will be no reform of the Equality Act in writing.

While Labour, I'm afraid, are doubling down.

If you are a single issue voter and this is the issue, at present you would be best voting Tory. (And you have no idea how much it hurts me to say that!)