Twitter thread: no impact assessments carried out for school guidance in Scotland

[SunsetBeetch]

Well this is concerning, although probably not surprising:

Government funded school guidance has been issued across Scotland, endorsed by Children's Commissioner, charities, LA's etc which discards the need for single sex spaces/sports t.co/ye3ekBGSEi

No Equality Impact Assessments were carried out, neither by the organisations who compiled the guidance nor the Local Authorities who have distributed it amongst their schools.

I can't see Twitter, not on it and it won't let me register.

Can some info be posted here, please?

No, h* said it yesterday

At the conference?

Hi all, it's pretty clear that we have picked up a derailer. We're on the case, but we'll leave the posts so that the thread makes some sort of sense. No need for further reports on this one, thanks!

Yes

Bex Stinson from Stonewall has been asked how they were 'so successful' in Scotland. H response: they bypassed the public and went directly to the service organisations. The 'conversations were being had in rooms with decision makers' and not in public. That's how.

Fucking hell - they're just so brazen - just shows they know this will not be popular with the public.

Rather like the TAs who pushed the GRA through in 2004 - boasting about how they managed to do it without the press/public realising.

They know exactly what they're doing.

Still, it means the backlash, when it comes, will be huge.

@ibaker23 I never wanted to go to school. I didn't know it was even an option to not go to school. If the solution I come up with doesn't work for you then you don't want anything to change.

Wow. You think that because I recognise that many families have no choice about both parents working, that means I don't want change? That is a logical fallacy called the "false dichotomy" or "either/or fallacy".

And TBH your entire post was a red herring, we're talking about how to make school safe for girls, not whether we should remove them from it. Most kids hate school, but they need to be educated, and many parents can't do that.

Personally, I think school is a good thing: I ask myself now, would I have had the opportunities and skills I have now if I had been home-schooled, and I wouldn't have done. Attending my all-girl secondary allowed me to learn and socialise with other girls, to attend extra-curricular activities run by the school and learn new hobbies that I still enjoy today, and to make my own decisions about who my friends were instead of having my parents pick them for me (most parents want their kids to be friends with their friends' kids, based on my experience of who gets invited to kids birthday parties, which would have meant I would have had no friends because my parents were from outside the area and had no local friends). I would not want to deny any kid that chance, but I am committed to them having that chance safely. If my primary school had cared about safeguarding enough to give us single-sex changing rooms and make the lunchtime playground supervisors patrol the yard and stop the boys from hitting and harassing the girls instead of standing in a huddle facing each other and chatting, I would have had a much better primary school experience and would be able to look back on the football playing and singing without also remembering pain, fear, and humiliation.

Fucking hell - they're just so brazen - just shows they know this will not be popular with the public.

Yep. And that they have vast institutional power and are about as oppressed as you'd expect a movement spearheaded by class privileged white males would be. That is, not oppressed at all.

Chipping away at women's sex segregated spaces and boundaries. And what better way to do that, than to start in our schools? Start eroding the boundaries of young girls at an early age. God, it's so obviously a male sexual rights movement.

Thanks Pratchet, that’s a shame it’s not written down or minutes anywhere.

Someone said earlier it will all be transcribed and sent out. Hope so.

Pretty frank admission by Stonewall: 'we bypassed all the women users or potential users, and went straight to the bosses so that decisions could be made in private rooms.'

That's not a direct quote, it's in inverted commas for effect. It's a paraphrase of what Stinson said.

And that was an example of 'success'

www.lgbtyouth.org.uk/media/1344/supporting-transgender-young-people.pdf

This is the guidance that has been issued and is being promoted by the local authority I work for. I have had a quick scan and already spotted that there is encouragement not to tell parents, even when the child is under 16. Links to Mermaids and a bit that says we shouldn't encourage the use of binders while helping the child to decide to use binders. Going to read the whole thing and report back

I haven't opened the link yet but I'm horrified.

Apparently the NEU is bringing out new trans guidance too.

Ok I have read through the guidance

points I have issues with

1. They use the term sex assigned at birth - when we all know sex is observed at birth

1. They repeatedly say they should only talk to the child's family with the consent of the child, first time on page 10 talking about primary school children. Now I understand this if the child's family is hostile to this but what if their are safeguarding issues, like its clear someone else is encouraging them or putting pressure on them.

1. Use the term cisgender and define it as someone whose gender identity corresponds to their assigned sex, that is someone who is not transgender (p13). My gender identity doesn't conform to my sex cause gender is bollocks but I am not cisgender and I find the assumption that I am hideous.

1. Page 17 - If parents of other children voice concerns about their child sharing toilets or changing rooms with a trans learner, they should be reminded of the schools ethos of inclusion, equality and respect. It then says they should be summoned to a meeting to address concerns. Doesn't say what will happen if the concerns are legitimate or that the child who is being subjected to this has any rights. This is repeated on page 18 under good practice were it continues that transgender young people should not be forced to use alternative facilities but the person who is uncomfortable should be.

1. Page 20 - encourages staff to let transgender young people compete in the category that matches their gender identity . This puts young women at a disadvantage

1. Page 20 - talks about binders - it does mention that they can lead to shortness of breath and be painful during physical exercise but doesn't mention the long term effects. Also states they can have a positive impact on mental health so staff should allow the young person to decide whether to wear one, and help them join in

1. Page 20/ 21 - school trips - if a transgender young person wants to share a room with other young people who share their gender identity they should be able to do so. If a transgender young person is sharing a room with their peers, their is no reason for the parent or carers of other young people to be informed. So we are going to let a male bodied person share with girls but not tell the parents.

1. Risk assessments - risk assessments should not be used to exclude a transgender young people - what even when they are deemed a risk to others

1. Page 25 - use the 57% attempted suicide stat from a 2012 study of 433 individuals in Toronto. This is not statistically significant and is misleading. It also perpetrates the if you don't affirm them they will die myth, especially because they put it next to the this is what happens if you have supportive parents figure

10. Page 10 - links to mermaids ( I will say no more)

11. Page 27 - put the young person at the centre and keep them there - otherwise known as teach young people that they need attention all the time to be special

12. Page 36 - Transgender young people 'break' gender rules - could that be because gender is a societal construct designed to keep men and women in their little boxes. How about we just get rid of gender all together.

13. Page 46 - Some young people may begin heir medical transition while in School - god I hope not

14. Page 46 mentions how they are working to change the rules to allow people under 18 to go through the gender recognition process . Despite the fact that young people may not have the maturity or life experience to make this judgement.

15. Page 47 - positive mention of puberty blockers - no mention of the long term effects

16. Page 50 - scenarios for teachers - all about affirmation like the rest of the document. No mention of discussing any negative effects or even waiting to see if they change their minds

There are Lawyers in the US starting to challenge this kind of thing - we need that here. It flies in the face of all safeguarding procedures, how is it legal?

Threadreader has made into a more user-friendly document:

threadreaderapp.com/thread/976173475793653762.html

dragongirlx
Iv written to my msp and regional msps about self ID but also highlighted this issue. I would encourage all concerned to write.

"They use the term sex assigned at birth - when we all know sex is observed at birth"

I don't have the time or energy to address all the inaccuracies in that post but I will do this one. It is impossible to observe sex at birth because, for example, karyotype is unknown. So it has to be assigned on the basis of best guess.

In my case the doctor wrote one thing in the sex box, then changed his mind, crossed it out and put the other in. I know firsthand that it can be something of a lottery.

Great summary btw.

dragongirlx
Great summary

thanks

I have already written to my MSP's about self ID but will be following up about this one. I have already raised concerns about the exclusion of sex as a protected characteristic in my local authority and so far been ignored (staff survey were they only had gender identity as a category)

As I understand the law there is no requirement to undertake an Equality Impact Assessment anymore. If I am wrong, maybe someone can plesse post up the relevant statutory requirement?

It is impossible to observe sex at birth because, for example, karyotype is unknown. So it has to be assigned on the basis of best guess

Bollocks. In 99.9% of cases sex is easily observable at birth by the presence or absence of penis / vulva. Where the baby has ambiguous genitalia then karotype testing can be easily undertaken. Sex is binary and measurable.