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.

Thanks dragon, agree with you on everything

I’m Scottish with a DD about to start primary school and I knew nothing of this. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll write to my MSP too.

thanks for that response itsallgoingtobefine couldn't have put it better myself

local authorities that have endorsed this Aberdeen City Counci, Aberdeenshire Council, Angus Council, City of Edinburgh Council, East Lothian Council, Highland Council, Midlothian, North Aryshire Council, North Lanarkshire Council, Orkney Islands Council, Perth & Kinross Council, South Aryshire Council and West Lothian Council.

That's 17 out of 32

and Dundee

Ach my local council is on that list! In real terms what does this mean? (I’m sorry, I get very confused)

Is it 17 LAs in total or is the final no not actually known? I'm wondering if there's any that havent endorsed & have done an impact assessment. If that's the case it would be interesting to see their response & the EIA.

The public sector equality duty that came from the 2010 Act is still in place and both the Scottish Government and Local Authorities have to assess any changes to policy/ practice and whether it has an impact on people from the protected characteristics. The Scottish Government carries out EQIA's and the local authority I work with use something called and Integrated Impact assessment - this is also used by the NHS.
All LA's and the Scottish Government should have completed this but I can find no evidence of this.

So if they have a duty to do the EQIA, and neither the Scottish government not the LA's have done this, what oversight is there to address this? Who is responsible for compelling that duty?

SoddingUnicorns - love the user name

In real terms this could mean that your child may be required to share changing rooms, toilets, if on trips rooms with a male bodied person.
If they are you raise concerns they will either be ignored or you will be invited in to be re educated.
If your child is doesn't conform to the stereotypes that are associated with being a girl then it may be assumed she is trans and she may receive pressure to transition. Please note I say may here.
When she is older and the differences between the sexes become more pronounced she may have to compete in sports against male bodied people who will have a better chance at winning because of the differences in biology.

Again if she objects she will be told she is in the wrong.
As women and girls are already at a significant disadvantage due to sexism and misogyny in our society this will just rub it in a little bit more.

bananaistheanswer

There are 17 LA's listed on the guidance that I downloaded off my councils intranet today - more may take this on.

There is usually a compliance officer in the LA that ensures they are completed - in ours though it only happens if there is an accompanying council report. They should then be published on the website.

I would take a guess that the Scottish Government will say as its guidance and it doesn't have to be adopted its down to the Local Authority, and the LA's will say they are supporting it not putting it into policy so they don't have to do one.

It is impossible to observe sex at birth 🙄

And

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?

Attached is a screenshot of the Equality and Human Rights Committee website where you can search for guidance and advice.

Look! Here I am doing a search as a public sector organisation, such as education provider, and it helpfully tells me that I am indeed subject to the public sector equality duty!

And here is the result of my search, the very helpful document “Assessing impact and the Public Sector Equality Duty: a guide for public authorities (Scotland)”

www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/publication-download/assessing-impact-and-public-sector-equality-duty-guide-public-authorities

I would take a guess that the Scottish Government will say as its guidance and it doesn't have to be adopted its down to the Local Authority, and the LA's will say they are supporting it not putting it into policy so they don't have to do one.

Yes this is my understanding of their position dragongirl.

Recent article by a schoolgirl, in the USA who is part of a lawsuit challenging federal policies which removed the right to same sex toilets and changing rooms:

'Girls and boys shouldn't do everything together'
(extract)
"I was a junior in high school when I ducked into the girls’ room at school one day to find … a boy. I froze. Three years at this particular school, and that had never happened to me before. The girls’ bathroom had always been the girls’ getaway place — a place for privacy, mostly, but also a little refuge — a place to get away from boys, maybe talk about boys, but not meet boys.

My first thought was to get out. My second was to find my teacher and let her know what had happened. The teacher told me to tell the principal, so I did. And the principal did nothing.... continues

If our administrators didn’t have much to say after we told them, they had even less to say before. No one notified the students at our school — or our parents — of this sudden change of policy. No one prepared us, warned us, counseled us...."

www.philly.com/philly/opinion/commentary/boyertown-transgender-bathroom-lgbtq-gender-identiy-philadelphia-suburbs-20180524.html

NB The Federal case and subsequent appeal failed and so will likely go higher to the Supreme Court.
At the appeal, the Federal judge did not allow 'sex' or 'opposite sex' to be defined which was of course signifcant to the outcome.

I have asked my LA to direct me to the impact assessment - not expecting a quick response

I wrote to the equalities commission regarding this schools guidance earlier in the year but have heard nothing from them, not even an acknowledgement of my email.

I was in shock and then hugely angry when I first read it and dragongirlx has pretty much covered all the things that jumped out at me.

They do not seem to give the tiniest shiny shit about safeguarding, consent, respecting boundaries or the rights of girls in that document unless they are transgirls.

I was also struck by the concern shown in the document over the adverse medical implications of trans identified pupils not going to the toilet during school if they couldn't use the ones they wanted, but the use of binders which have terrible side effects was unquestioningly accepted.

So if the government can weasel out of it, and the LA too, is there another angle to go after on safeguarding? Or is that what the EQIA is for?

They do not seem to give the tiniest shiny shit about safeguarding, consent, respecting boundaries or the rights of girls in that document unless they are transgirls.

There are important points made by Lisa Muggeridge on the thread below re safeguarding and the consequences of disregarding established good practise and frameworks:

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1003783835581145093.html

Lisa Muggeridge is ace

Thanks for that link *R0wantrees", I've started following LM on Twitter and she seems to be very good on this topic.

The Government have responded to the petition to consult women with regards changes to the GRA see thread below:

(extracts)
"Gender recognition is a devolved issue and the Scottish Government ran a separate consultation, which closed on 1 March 2018."

The Government does not intend to change the safeguarding processes that are currently used in refuges and healthcare services. Providers of women-only services can continue to provide services in a different way, or even not provide services to trans individuals, provided it is objectively justified on a case-by-case basis. The same can be said about toilets, changing rooms or single sex activities. Providers may exclude trans people from facilities of the sex they identify with, provided it is a proportionate means of meeting a legitimate aim."

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3269463-Government-response-to-the-petition

terryleather
Lisa Muggeridge writes here: idgeofreason.wordpress.com

Epic bold fail.....

Cheers R0wantrees!

Also important to be aware of this statement on WPUK website:
(extracts)
"I’m writing as a feminist who has devoted over two decades of my life to ending violence against women (VAW). I’ve worked in frontline services in both domestic abuse and sexual violence services across the country and now I head up a VAW sector charity...."

"Unfortunately, in recent months the changes to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the incredibly toxic debate around the issue of ‘gender self ID’ has left many more women under a heavy veil of silence, particularly for those of us who work in the VAW sector. The dark, uncomfortable irony of this silence is not lost on me, nor is it lost on the many women in the sector I have recently spoken to about this issue.

As someone who has worked with many survivors of violence over the last two decades, I am terrified – both professionally and personally – about the impact of self ID on ensuring safe spaces are available to women who have experienced and are escaping male violence. Even without the legal changes to the GRA, gender inclusive policies are already happening in many areas, these changes are ahead of the law and already upon us...." continues

womansplaceuk.org/the-silencing-of-feminists-silences-survivors/

wrote to the equalities commission regarding this schools guidance earlier in the year but have heard nothing from them, not even an acknowledgement of my email
So did i . Me neither terryleather