Consultation on Self ID to progress

[Pratchet]

Whatever is motivating these female MPs to undermine women's rights, the battle to preserve our spaces is about to get very busy indeed.

A woman is an adult female human, of the sex that gestates and bears young. I am Spartacus. Women rise #wegotthis

No one can explain why they are so determined to push this forwards, just that its 'progress'.

Where the fuck have they been for the last 5 decades when women needed this kind of progress?

The commitment to launch the consultation was slightly weaker than Dawn Butler had it.

Victoria Atkins, Minister for Women, is actually recorded in Hansard as saying: "We are analysing the responses of trans people in the LGBT survey, and we are aiming to launch the consultation before the summer recess."

If I remember rightly, the government was originally aiming to launch the consultation last autumn. That said, they have been under a lot of pressure to publish and I doubt the government would feel comfortable with another postponement.

Given the importance TRAs attach to 'no debate', the public consultation may present a good opportunity to bring all this to wider attention.

For anyone wondering - on current plans, the House of Commons rises for the summer recess on 24 July.

Given the importance TRAs attach to 'no debate', the public consultation may present a good opportunity to bring all this to wider attention.

I agree. TRA are relying on no debate to push this through.

If nothing else women and girls need to be made aware that they are allowed to have sex segregation. That needs to be highlighted at every opportunity.

It needs to be a public consultation of all stakeholders and interested parties which is fit for purpose, not a fait accompli, and if it isn't I think we need to look at crowdfunding a legal challenge.

I’ve just said this on another thread. We need a media campaign to tell people what is happening and how it will affect them. People can’t disagree with it at the moment because they have no idea that it’s going on. We need to get the word out in the most widely read media outlets. I suggested that we might crowd fund some ads in the tabloids. They need to be pitched right, not anti trans but concerned about women and girls. At least if we get out there people can make up their own minds.

Thanks OP. This gives me a clear reason to nudge my (anti GRA) MP again.

When they say “public consultation”, what does that actually mean?

It means they'll consult with mermaids, stonewall and Stephen Whittle

That IMO is not a consultation fit for purpose and could be challenged legally.

I'm all for crowd funding a legal challenge too

Let's see what they put out.

I would contribute to a legal challenge. The problem is, in order to raise enough money for that we need people to know that it’s actually happening. Legal challenges cost an awful lot of money, way beyond the means of any of us I would imagine.

Thanks Scarlet, very helpful.

I think Penny Mordaunt may be made of sterner stuff. She'd better consult women, because I voted Tory on the grounds they were abandoning this. I know my area and I guarantee that if this goes to Self ID, this council and this constituency is lost to the Conservatibes.

Also would contribute to legal challenge

On who will be consulted - I wrote to my MP (a well-known cabinet minister) about Self ID last month. The reply I got included this:

"The consultation on the reform of the Gender Recognition Act will be a wide and open consultation, and I know the Government Equalities Office wants to hear from all stakeholders, including women's groups and refuges."

And the letter ended with this:

"I am assured that Ministers will consider further evidence and representation from all affected parties before taking any future policy decisions, and I would encourage you to contribute to the consultation when it opens."

Standard wording, no doubt; but the Government is at least saying that it wants to hear from a wide range of interested parties.

Agree, will be interesting to see what this looks like if and when it comes out.

if EHRC is going to be giving further legally based guidance in this area I wonder if they might wait until that is published first?

I'm all for crowdfunding.

@Scarlet
I think what they mean is that women’s organisations and refuges will be consulted about how transpeople will be affected. I reckon I could bet my savings on that.

HotRocker - that may well be what the GEO would like to hear about.

But people who respond will be able to say whatever they want. If enough people are critical of the proposals, the Government will at least have to acknowledge the opposition, even if they still press ahead with what they want to do.

As people have said, the key thing will be to get as many people as possible - organisations and individuals - to join in the consultation and get the message across.

womens groups and refuges will be consulted. would that be the same organisations which have clearly all already felt pressurised to write trans women into their policies or face losing funding / being harassed into extinction?

this is all circular.

womens groups and refuges will be consulted. would that be the same organisations which have clearly all already felt pressurised to write trans women into their policies or face losing funding / being harassed into extinction?

this is all circular.

This is a critically important point. I would expect them to engage with A Woman's Place, Fair Play for Women etc, not just the organisations transactivists have got their claws into.

In my experience, government public consultations aren't (as some people might be thinking) about government departments going out to chosen organisations and individuals and asking them what they think. I imagine what will happen here is in due course a consultation document will be published on the Department's website and a press notice issued saying that a consultation will run from that day for (usually) 12 weeks. Anybody with an interest will be free to respond to the document.

It may well be that, behind the scenes, officials are in touch with particular organisations about the content but there shouldn't be any limit on who can respond. People don't need to be asked to join in.

Problem is, hardly any people even know about it. Nobody can object if they don’t know it’s happening. How do we get the word out to make sure that people do know what’s happening and what it could mean? It’s like crowdfunding a legal challenge, where are we going to get the funds from if nobody even knows? Legal challenges can cost eye watering amounts of money. In order to come up with that sort of dosh people have to know about it.

I reckon the best way to put the brakes on this is to let as many people know as possible. I’m pretty dam sure that an awful lot of people would be horrified if they knew. There’s something about biological sex and sex segregated spaces that resonates quite deeply with people, not only women, but men with wives and daughters as well. We need to get it on the radar so people can make up their own minds.