The Herald - Trans guidance for Scottish schools breaches 11 children's rights campaigners warn

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17393697.trans-guidance-for-scottish-schools-breaches-11-childrens-rights-campaigners-warn/

I'm off to find the Impact Assessment...

this must have been so much work - it's fantastic

Placemarking this for later

I'm in Scotland and our school is having a meeting tomorrow night to discuss their new Sexual Health and Behaviour Programme, whatever that might be, and I need to he prepared. Heard a rumour they're thinking of moving to unisex toilets and we all know why that would be.

The fact that two girls have left the school due to older boys touching them inappropriately has possibly escaped their memory.

Pmk

How how anyone can disagree with any of that assessment is clearly ludicrous. But we do have ludicrous.

However, for a girl who is competing against a transgender young person who is male-bodied, and therefore likely to be physically stronger, with greater lung capacity and a different physique, the impact is likely to be much more significant in terms of fairness and safety.

We have already seen an academic at Nottingham Trent refute this with the idea that women don't try hard enough. On national radio.

I know we often talk about the emperors new clothes, but the concept is absolutely zinging off those pages.

Excellent reading.

The comments under the Herald article are largely encouraging. However, it amazes me me that there are so many people who are either a) unable to think critically about this, b) wonder why we are redefining what it means to be 'female' but not what it means to be 'male', c) dismissive of women.

Creaky - good luck. I wonder if the school has even bothered to conduct an impact assessment?

I seriously doubt it @HandsOffMyRights and I could be wrong - it could be nothing to do with this. But I did hear that one of the possible guidelines they're looking at is not telling parents if kids confide in a teacher that they're trans. So the kid might be appearing at home and at school in completely different ways. How that won't lead to mental health problems is beyond me.

But as I say - could be wrong and it's nothing to do with trans, but I'm very, very concerned.

Gaun yersels! (Which is Scots for a round of applause, and is directed at those responsible for this fantastic piece of work.)

Very interesting.

Gaun yersels!

Seconded. This is an amazing piece of work and it is inexcusable that public authorities have not done it themselves.

We are in the process of having a new primary school built and the plans show unisex toilets. I already broached my concerns with the head who agreed with me that it was a concern but doubted that would be the case as it certainly hadn't been pointed out to him that that was specifically planned.
Is it worth me tweeting this to the council? Are they likely to listen at this stage?

Yes. Tweet it. In fact go further and ask them specifically how thy propose to respect the rights of natal girls with their unisex toilets.

*Datun

I'm glad this is being reported at last. I hope other papers pick it up.*

Presumably released strategically today as part of the week of action to tie in with tomorrow’s meeting in Edinburgh by For Women Scotland.

Does anyone understand the relationship between the organisation that produced this impact asssessment, and For Women?

Lang
Yes, the public authorities need to read the small print before they make changes to public policies, particularly with regard to safeguarding in schools.

I'd send this to the Girl Guides and ask for comment. Pretty much sums up my concerns. No doubt Owen Jones, Peter Thatchell, Pink News, Stonewall etc will not take any of it on board. Much easier to peddle the lie that it's all a right wing conspiracy founded in bigotry rather than engage on any substantive points.

Meant to add, have read the doc this morning. Very cogent 😊. Questioning the policy process is such a fruitful avenue, as it is difficult to fault or call out people pursuing this most laudable aim.

Think this document is super helpful as it combines that attention to process with some really excellent substance which highlight the needs of girls at school.

It strikes me that as I’ve climbed the learning curve over the last few months, I’ve spent a lot of time “exploring ” my terfiness with TRAs who will never be convinced by anything I say - hoping that I can start diverting my energy to things that make a more positive difference 😊

I'd send this to the Girl Guides and ask for comment

God yes. I can’t (am a leader).

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/girls-wary-of-trans-pupils-are-advised-to-change-elsewhere-mvg3vjvhc

Times too.

It really is a fantastic piece of work. I wrote to girlguiding (again) before Christmas about the impact of the trans- inclusive policy on girls who have experienced sexual abuse and the failure to safeguard their mental health and wellbeing and ensure their inclusion. I also specifically said that "I feel that it is also important to note that sexually abused girls are acknowledged and given rights under Article 39 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that “State Parties (Countries) must take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of:
any form of neglect, exploitation, or abuse... Such recovery and reintegration shall take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.” Whilst I understand that charitable organisations, such as yourselves, do not need to adhere to Human Rights legislation, I do think that it important to understand that your single-sex organisation has traditionally provided an environment to a sexually abused girl which promotes their psychological recovery and social reintegration whilst fostering the health, self-respect and dignity of the child."
I have not heard back for them so will ring later and also email them a copy of this document. I felt so heartened to read it last night.

Does anyone understand the relationship between the organisation that produced this impact asssessment, and For Women?

They're separate groups (although with some shared members) - the Herald boobed by saying it was the same group running the meeting.

CreakyBlinder This assessment specifically raises the violation of rights that occurs when schools keep vital information (such as a child's trans status) from parents. Scotland actually has laws making information sharing with parents mandatory unless there are real safeguarding concerns in relation to the parents (which is highly unlikely for most of the kids identifying as trans).

So if your headteacher keeps info about a child's trans status from the parents, and the kid gets puberty blockers off the internet for instance and gets sick, the parents could absolutely sue the school, probably even go for criminal charges (not saying they would be successful, but it's a possibility).

I would also give any headteacher in a school proposing to follow the LGBT Youth Guidance a link to this new assessment and then ask them if their liability insurance will cover them in case of any incidents arising from the school going against existing law and regulations. AFAIK insurance is invalidated if something happens that would never have happened had they followed the law.

GalacticChickenShit yes, it is absolutely worth giving the council a ring.

The regulations governing school buildings in both Scotland and England continue to mandate separate, single-sex provision of sanitary facilities. They looked at changing these regs in Scotland last year, but they didn't, so they continue to apply to new buildings.

And unless the school builds unisex facilities (these are self-contained one-person rooms with an anteroom containing a sink and another room containing the toilet or one-person rooms containing both the sink and the toilet, with floor-to-ceiling lockable doors and walls), they will be in breach of these guidelines (and a bunch of UN articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as covered in this new impact assessment).

Mixed-sex sanitary facilities in schools are simply not lawful in the UK. What is lawful, and eminently sensible, is to provide female-only and male-only, disabled and unisex facilities in sufficient numbers to cater to all the children in a school.

Unisex facilities in addition to those for disabled children are of course vitally important as these children are often underserved already when it comes to the number of facilities. Because disabled toilets are unisex already, in many places outside of schools they are often commandeered to be used by those who identify as trans. Which is of course entirely unacceptable.

I would always put important things like this down in writing Galactic, by which I mean a letter or an archived email. When people have to write things down, and know what they say could bite them on the backside if not correct, they are more likely to take you seriously and not give false assurances.

Tweets can be deleted. I wouldn't just tweet. I'd write as well.

Thanks for this really helpful post @CharlieParley I'll be making a lot of notes later (I should be working right now)