Edited letter:
I am writing to you with regard to the proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act and the movement towards people being able to self identify their gender. I would like to bring to your attention the possible effects of this change on women who have suffered trauma at the hands of men. I would like to preface this letter with the fact that I understand that not all men are a threat to women, and I also do not think that transgender individuals usually pose any threat to women.
I was raped when I was 17 years old. Unfortunately it was a violent rape, and has had a lasting effect on my mental health. I have also been treated awfully by men in relationships and experienced sexual violence from men in other situations. I have been groped in public places, repeatedly 'cat-called', even physically attacked because I would not let a man grind up against me in a night club, the list goes on. As i'm sure you understand, events like these cause post traumatic effects, which can be hard to cope with day to day. I have had extensive therapy, but unfortunately there are still situations that are triggering, and different scenarios that cause me problems. I would like to point out that I am most definitely not alone in my experiences. At least 1 in 20 women in the UK have been raped, and a staggering 1 in 5 have been sexually assaulted. These statistics may not even be close to the real figures as many women, myself included, are unable to report their attackers due to shame and fear of not being believed, or blamed for their attack.
I take a huge amount of comfort in the fact that women's safe spaces such as women only toilet facilities, changing rooms and showers at leisure centres enable me to be away from men at times that I feel more vulnerable. At the moment, if I were to encounter a man in the women's changing area or toilets, I would be able to speak to a member of staff and ask that he be removed. If self ID comes into practice, all a man would have to do is say he identifies as a woman, and I would not be able to ask them to leave. The man would not have to have been through any medical transition or even appear to be living as a woman, and any comment from me would be classed as transphobia. This is despite any effects this would have on me. I would be incredibly anxious and have to leave, and would likely suffer effects from this for a good few days afterwards.
I am also concerned that there seems to be no exemptions permitted for this policy, even if the man who is self identifying as a woman intends to perform intimate medical examinations or procedures on a female patient. I have recently had to have a smear test, which is an unpleasant and intimate procedure for most women, and a horrifying nightmare for women like me. Before the smear test I took a drug called Propranalol, in the hope that it would calm my anxiety for the procedure. I had sleepless nights in the run up to the test, and when I entered the nurse's room, I started to shake and cry. I explained my situation, and explained the test was necessary as I have been having health problems. It was only the thought of potentially leaving my daughter without a mother that forced me to proceed. I have not been able to have a smear test done since my first one, when I had a similar reaction. I sobbed through the first 10 minutes of the test, and then I think I disassociated from the situation as I do not really remember the rest. This is the effect of trauma from a rape.
If the nurse intending to do the test had been biologically male, but self identifying as a woman, there is no way I would have been able to have the procedure done. I would have had to leave, putting my health at risk. In a situation with a self identifying health professional, I would not have been able to say I did not want this person to do my smear test without opening myself up to accusations of being a transphobe. This is not just a hypothetical situation, as can be seen from this news story: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-female-nhs-nurse-i-asked-for-came-with-stubble-83rq9p0gg
After experiencing a rape, victims experience Rape Trauma Syndrome (which is clearly explained here: rapecrisis.org.za/rape-trauma-syndrome/ ). I wanted to bring to your attention this study: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2323517/ which emphasises the importance of a survivor being able to control her environment in order to fully recover and that she may suffer PTSD related to the male body (with body meaning including timbre of voice, bearing, etc). I hope this helps you to understand why the situations I have described are so difficult for a rape survivor.
At the moment, I do not believe that the majority of transgender individuals pose a threat to my safety. The current process to obtain a gender recognition certificate is complex enough that it is likely to only be completed by true transgender individuals. If self ID is brought in, I believe that men who intend to harm women will use it as a key to gain access to our safe spaces and women only services. I am angry, and scared, because women are being silenced when they raise their objections to the proposed changes. These changes will have a huge effect on women like me. We will no longer be able to go to the toilet in a mostly safe environment, access women's only sessions at swimming pools, and shower afterwards in a place where we feel safe among many other things.
I implore you to stand behind women like me, and do everything you can to make sure that our safe spaces and services are protected. The effects of a rape are hard enough to deal with day to day, when I can't have my partner touch me, or when I can't see it is my daughter stopping me from moving, all I feel is the fear and the trauma. Those effects are nearly impossible to deal with in the situations I have described to you.
I have signed this petition: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/214118 in the hope that voices like mine are heard, but you have the ability to get the message to far more people than I do. Please can you support this cause. All it is asking for is women to be consulted. We just want the chance to explain how it will affect the most vulnerable among us and the real effects on our lives.
Thank you for your time.