This is my email back. Am in the US with work so no time to deconstruct. Anyone else is welcome to!
Dear Ms Twofalls,
Thank you for your emails raising your concerns about the following documents:
a) British Gymnastics Policy for the Participation of Trans People in Gymnastics Competition; and
b) British Gymnastics Guidance on the Inclusion of Trans People in all Forms of Gymnastics Activity.
While the policy is mandatory and applies to all domestic gymnastics competitions, the guidance aimed at clubs is not mandatory as each club operates differently and the circumstances for each trans participant are different therefore individualised solutions may be needed.
Before responding to your specific concerns, it is important to acknowledge the complexities of this subject and the fact that there are some individuals and groups who are strongly against the principle of defining children as trans. We do not believe it is our role to be judgemental about the beliefs of others or approach taken by parents supporting a child who has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. While we respect your right to express your views, we do not feel it is appropriate for us to enter into debate about matters such as the difference between sex and gender. Our role is to provide policy and guidance to our clubs that promotes inclusion, equality and diversity and to ensure compliance with applicable law.
Given the above, we believe the relevant points to which we will respond to individually are as follows:
- The organisations who you believed advised British Gymnastics are not reputable because of the actions of individuals associated with them.
- You think the definition of trans used in the policy is outdated, sexist and regressive.
- You believe other sports are withdrawing similar guidance because it is dangerous and discriminatory.
- You feel the rules for competition disadvantage girls and girls will be squeezed out of competitive sport.
- You think the guidance for clubs contradicts the safeguarding policy and compromises the safety, dignity and privacy of children and should be withdrawn.
The organisations who you believed advised British Gymnastics are not reputable because of the actions of individuals associated with them.
While our Equality Steering Group did receive some initial training and resources from Gendered Intelligence, they were not directly involved in developing our policy and guidance. We have not worked with Mermaids or Stonewall and have no connection with any of the individuals you have named in your correspondence.
The guidance we provided for our clubs was well-researched to ensure it was relevant to clubs and that it complies with all applicable laws. We reviewed information from a diverse range of external organisations, including Equality & Human Rights Commission, ACAS, Citizen’s Advice, other sports organisations and NHS in addition to material from organisations that support trans people such as Stonewall and Gires. We also consulted with clubs, parents and participants.
You think the definition of trans used in the policy is outdated, sexist and regressive.
You appear to state the above on the basis that the definition makes reference to signs that can appear at a very young age such as ‘a child refusing to wear typical clothes of their gender or taking part in non-typical games’. This reference is actually from the definition we used in the policy for gender dysphoria and not the definition we used for ‘trans’. The former is based on the current medical description of the condition. Further information can be found on the NHS website www.nhs.uk/conditions/Gender-dysphoria/
You believe other sports are withdrawing similar guidance because it is dangerous and discriminatory.
The Equality Standard for Sport is a framework that was developed by UK Sport, Sport England and the 3 other Home Country Sports Councils who together make up the Sport Councils Equality Group (SCEG). All funded sports are required to work towards the Standards to widen access and reduce inequalities experienced by under-represented individuals and groups including trans people.
We are aware of many other sports governing bodies that have similar guidance in place including the Football Association who state in their guide to including trans people in football published in 2016 that ‘Trans people should have access to the toilets, showers and changing rooms of their self-identified gender ‘. (p15). Many other sports have already introduced similar guidance and we are aware that other major sports will be publishing guidance later this year. We are unaware of the reason why Swim England’s guidance for facility operators is under review.
You feel the rules for competition disadvantage girls and girls will be squeezed out of competitive sport.
The Equality Act 2010 extended the specific individuals and groups who are protected from discrimination to include gender reassignment and includes a specific but limited exemption relating to sports competitions that allows for participation by ‘transsexual’ participants to be restricted where it is necessary to uphold fair or safe competition. The SCEG developed specific guidance to assist National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to apply this exemption appropriately with particularly reference to children.
Our policy, like those of other NGBs, has been informed by the SCEG and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidance and permits anyone who has transitioned from female to male to compete in the male category without restriction. Male to female trans participant are only able to compete without restriction if they are under 12. After this point, medical evidence is required and once the participant is over 16, they must demonstrate that their testosterone levels are within the normal female range for at least 12 months prior to competition.
We believe that these guidance documents provide a fair framework to develop sport-specific policy and do not agree that the inclusion of trans children puts girls at a disadvantage or will squeeze them out of competition, particularly in a sport where women and girls represent over 70% of our participants.
Given the above requirements, it is highly unlikely that any males would go to these lengths simply to compete in a women’s event. It is far from simple for a boy over the age of 12 to enter an event simply by stating they identify as female. The scenario you outlined about a US college event would not apply, as medical evidence would be required before participation could be approved.
While it is apparent from the enquires we receive from clubs and parents that there are trans individuals who will now be able participate in competitive gymnastics in a way that was previously inaccessible, trans participants remain a very tiny proportion of our membership and an even smaller proportion of our competitive members.
You think the guidance for clubs contradicts the safeguarding policy and compromises the safety, dignity and privacy of children and should be withdrawn.
While it is essential that anyone who is providing gymnastics activities for children has robust safeguarding arrangements in place, we do not consider our trans guidance compromises the welfare of children in our sport and believe it complies with legal requirements.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission Guidance - What Equality Law Means for your Business (2014) is clear that “transsexual’ people should be treated as belonging to the gender in which they present (as opposed to the physical sex they were born with) unless a service provider can objectively justify treating them differently”. The guidance specifically states that “anyone who identifies themselves as a woman - whether that is their legal status or not - can already use separate-sex facilities such as changing rooms, toilets or single-sex gyms”.
This does not mean that anyone who says that are female (or male) can simply use the separate sex facilities of that gender. Although a trans person does not need to have undergone any specific treatment or surgery to be protected by the Equality Act 2010 but they do need to have completed or be intending to complete the process of gender reassignment.
Our guidance advises clubs to have a discussion with any existing participant who plans to transition where the topic of access to toilets and changing facilities should be considered. In many cases, the trans participant wishes to use alternative facilities but if this was not their wishes or this option was not available, clubs would need an objectively justifiable reason to restrict a participant from accessing the facilities appropriate to their gender identity. In most cases, the club would contact British Gymnastics for advice as they usually do not feel confident to take these decisions in isolation. We help clubs to look at the specific individual circumstances, including the nature of participation, the availability of facilities such as changing areas and any specific risks in relation to how these facilities are used.
We have provided support to clubs and/or parents in respect of children who have already transitioned where there is no visual indication of the child’s trans status. In these cases, the individual would not wish to do anything that could identify them to as trans. While you are correct that the right to legally change the sex on your birth certificate is only open to people over the age of 18, the Equality Act 2010 protects trans children from discrimination and it is likely that the disclosure of any information by the club without the explicit agreement of the trans person would be a breach of data protection law.
Where the person who intends to transition is an existing participant, some discussion and information sharing with other participants and potentially parents would of course be appropriate as they will have known the individual in the opposite gender.
When preparing our guidance, we considered the context of the specific services that most clubs provide and whether there are likely to be circumstances where it would be objectively justifiable to require trans participants to use different facilities. We learned from our clubs that except for younger (often pre-school) children who may be changed by a parent/carer, gymnasts do not usually remove all their clothes in changing facilities. Gymnasts tend to arrive already in their leotards and use these spaces to leave their belongings and any over garments such as t-shirts and jogging bottoms/leggings in the changing area during training and simply put their clothes back on top of their leotard at the end of the session. If a gymnast did need to get change, they will use the toilet or changing cubicles. Consequently, there does not seem to be any substantive evidence that allowing a trans girl to access the female facilities would compromises the safety, dignity and privacy of girls, although ultimately this is a matter for clubs to consider based on the applicable circumstances.
It is important to read the entire guidance document as it identifies the need to respond to each situation on a case by case basis and highlights that in some circumstances a risk assessment should be conducted,
particularly paying due regard to any safeguarding issues that could arise.
As you are aware, we require all gymnastics clubs to have effective safeguarding arrangements and to undertake risk assessments. The safeguarding policy requires clubs to provide separate changing facilities for males and females and that clubs must ensure that adults do not use these facilities at the same time as children. The trans guidance confirms that anyone with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment should be permitted to access the facilities based on their gender identity and includes the following statements which highlight the importance of ensuring children are safeguarded:
When making any arrangements for the use of changing facilities, it is important to consider the wider safeguarding arrangements relating to children and ensure that adults are not getting changed at the same time in the same space as children.
Where appropriate a risk assessment should be conducted particularly paying due regard to any safeguarding issues that could arise.
The safeguarding documents are currently under review and in response to feedback that we have received, we will ensure that specific reference is made to trans participants and clear indication as to when a risk assessment would be appropriate.
While we understand your concern, we believe it is highly unlikely that a participant who is not trans would claim that they identify as female simply to access the girl’s changing facilities or toilets. We are confident that clubs would be able to tell the difference between someone who is genuine in their intention to live permanently in the opposite gender and someone who has an ulterior motive for accessing these facilities and would identify the later scenario correctly as a child protection issue that should be reported without delay. We do not believe that our trans inclusion guidance compromises the welfare of girls. This seems to be the position of the NSPCC who recently indicated that they do not consider there to be any specific child protection concerns in relation to trans-inclusive policies whilst stressing the importance of robust safeguarding policies and risk assessment.
While we have no intention to withdraw the guidance, which has been received positively by many clubs and individuals, we are committed to continually review and improve its content and develop case studies and other resources to support understanding and awareness.
We believe that the guidance is vital in supporting people who identify as trans who can face significant barriers when seeking to participate in sport and thank you for raising your concerns.
Kind Regards.
Nicola Milton
Customer Resolution Officer
cid:[email protected]
T. 0345 1297129 Ext. 2637
W. british-gymnastics.org
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