No further forward folks, but another attempt to add to our wee pile. Will not be disheartened but will simply see this as another twig to add to the bonfire.
From: Complaints
Sent: Friday, September 7, 2018 9:19:37 AM
To: XXXXXXXX
Subject: Ref XXXXXX
Dear XXXXX
Thank you for contacting us regarding our policy on equality and diversity, and please accept our apology for the delay in getting back to you.
Our guidelines comply with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 which makes clear that organisations providing single-sex services such as Girlguiding should treat people according to their acquired gender. As such, and in line with our values of inclusion, we welcome all girls and young women, both cisgender and transgender.
Both cis and trans females can undertake all adult roles in guiding and may, if they wish, make their Promise. This approach is consistent with the law, which permits single sex services but prevents discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment (i.e. discrimination against trans people). Girlguiding has male volunteers that support the organisation and can take on any role that is not defined as being for women only (such as the unit leader role). We practice safe recruitment procedures and an individual can only become a volunteer if there is an appropriate role for them. Any adult volunteer who hasn’t gone through our recruitment process will not have unsupervised access to girls.
All activities we undertake, including residentials, are planned and managed through effective and compliant checking processes and are monitored throughout by local commissioners. All accommodation and showering arrangements are clearly planned and supported to ensure we offer accessibility for all.
It is good practice not to disclose if a young member is trans without their consent and in some cases would be unlawful. This is to safeguard the trans person who may be very vulnerable, and open to discrimination and abuse. If you are uncomfortable about your daughter potentially sharing accommodation, for whatever reason, you can discuss alternative accommodation and facilities with their leader. However, in accordance with our policy, they will not be able to tell you if there is a trans child in the unit without the permission of that child and their parents.
I hope that this answers you query and thank you again for contacting us.
Best wishes,
The Complaints Team
Girlguiding
17-19 Buckingham Palace Road
London
SW1W 0PT
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 020 7834 6242
Web: www.girlguiding.org.uk
From: XXXXXX
Sent: 11 September 2018 XXXX
To: Complaints
Subject: RE: Ref XXXXX
Dear Team,
Thank you for your reply.
Having considered this I feel I can see where the issue is arising. The Equality Act 2010 does not suggest that single sex children’s organisations assort individuals as per their gender, but does make provision for considering the inclusion of individuals who are transsexual. Under this weighty guidance, which I am sure you have read in full (I recall it took me the best part of two full days when it was published so I feel your pain!), provision is made for the potential inclusion of individuals who have determined to permanently identify as the sex of their preference. This of course does not include gender fluid or gender binary individuals, but only those with the clear and considered intent to live permanently as if their chosen sex. The document at no point references the capability of children to make such a legal decision. It is difficult to assume that the status of a child aged 12, say, should be assumed to be capable of making a permanent decision of this magnitude. For this reason tattoos and so on are not legal until the child is over 18.
The law made provision at that point for individuals to be treated for the purposes of the law ‘as if’ they were that new sex. The ‘as if’ is extremely important. It is akin to the legal provision for companies such as Tesco to be held accountable to certain laws ‘as if’ they were an individual (known as ‘corporate personality’). It does not mean that we actually believe that Tesco is a walking human being, but that we will apply the law ‘as if’ they were in certain circumstances. For this reason we will treat all transsexual (but not transgender) individuals ‘as if’ they were the acquired sex, but the fact that we know that the individual is not in point of fact a girl (for the purposes of guiding). The law also recognised this point, and made provision for exceptions to be made in the case of single sex services (such as those in which there is a legitimate argument to be made for the benefit of the membership to be able to access single sex provision).
As you will be well aware, as women we lag behind the rights and safety of our male colleagues. We are more vulnerable to rape and sexual assault, pay differentials and employment discrimination, inadequate provision of sex-specific healthcare, amongst other issues. We know that boys do better in mixed sex schools whereas girls perform at a significantly higher level when in single sex provision. We have long benefited from single sex space for girls so that they can learn and develop in a place where they are not distracted by ‘performing’ under the male gaze, or are crowded out by males who are socialised to feel more confidently that the space is their own. Girl Guiding has long been that space for our daughters, where they are validated for their own talents and encouraged to flourish into strong women upon whom the world can depend.
I have grown through Brownies and Guides (alas too old to have had a turn at Rainbows!), and have volunteered in the past in the organisation. I believe it is a laudable aim to promote inclusivity, and a truly ‘Guiding’ aim at that. We must think hard about how we can support, but where we must not ‘include’. Our women’s space is not diluted by excluding males, but strengthened. We must educate ourselves about the difference between sex and gender, and recognise that women and girls are not raped, assaulted, overwhelmed, outcrowded, or silenced by how men feel in their heads, but by their sexed bodies and presence in our space.
It is too easy to reject these views as simply being ‘outdated’, ‘uneducated’, ‘bigoted’. Most of the women I know who are campaigning hard for better understanding of this issue are the same women who have marched for better trans provision, who have stood with our trans partners as they fought for their needs. I myself have provided trans-supportive training and written guidance for organisations on inclusion and support. I believe in the right of any individual to self-identify, but not in their right to tell others what they must believe. It would be akin to my forcing other people to state that they believed in my God because I am offended that they do not. I stand for better trans spaces and support, and I also stand to maintain and protect single sex women’s spaces.
Guiding has confused gender with sex, and also the provision of the Equality Act as a binding law which forces us to include men in women’s spaces simply because these people ‘feel’ female. I think that the response provided below (thank you once more) has misunderstood the Act and the implications of a wholesale application of the act to a children’s organisation. I beg you to reconsider your position and to recognise the size and strength of opposition to your standpoint.
I look forward to your response once more,
Yours in Guiding,
XXXXXX