Shocked by YHA transgender policy wording

[CliffsofMoherVisitor]

I think this is the first time I have posted in this section. I have quietly read the threads for months as a lurker and become increasingly horrified at the creeping intrusion of males into women's spaces/sports.

What's prompted me to post is stumbling on the YHA's transgender policy. As you may already know (and it has been discussed before here, it is no longer single-sex dormitories - males can self-id as females and sleep in the female dormitory and vice versa. Reading the policy, it sounds like the YHA are trying to do the right thing (they quote the gender reassignment parts of the Equality Act), but it feels like they simply haven't thought it through.

The self-ID part of the policy and all its implications is troubling - self-IDing adult males sleeping in the same room/bunk as female children for example - how do you safeguard against a predator simply lying about their identity? But the line in the policy that upset me most was in relation to the sex-specific exemptions in the Equality Act as follows:

"In certain circumstances we may choose to invoke these exemptions; however, this is not as a rule. An example of these circumstances is people who have been the victims of abuse. In such situations we would work with all parties to provide a solution while still ensuring access everyone has access to our services. We invite people who meet the above criteria to get in touch with us in advance; please contact our customer care department at [email protected]. Individual requests will be dealt with on a case by case basis. Please be aware that these requests can take up to 14 days to process."

Am I correct in my reading that a female victim of abuse has to not only reveal this to the YHA, but do so 14 days in advance of their stay to ensure a female-only space? What if a transgender person arrives without a booking on the day? Is a female meant to go to the desk of the Youth Hostel and reveal their traumatic history to the receptionist? Then the receptionist decides what to do? What if there is no other accommodation available? Some Youth Hostels are in remote places. I find this statement absolutely mind-boggling in its impracticality, and sheer disregard for the experiences of abused women.

I feel so sad, I such good experiences Youth Hostelling as a teenager and a young woman, and I always stayed in YHA due to feeling safer as a single female ("Backpacker" hostels were often mixed sex dormitories). I did this even though YHA was usually more expensive.

I have always had a soft spot for YHA and think (thought) that they did good work for example doing trips for inner city kids to get out and experience the countryside, do hiking etc and of course, allowing a cheap yet safe place for females to stay when travelling. Therefore, even though I am more a Premier Inn type these days, I have always maintained my YHA membership via yearly standing order to support them - going back over 20 years now.

I'm not against trans-gender people using YHA at all - with segregation by sex, not by gender "identity", as it was originally. Perhaps with the provision of a third space open to both sexes? ie Male, Female and Mixed.

So - I think I have to cancel my standing order :( Should I write and tell them why, or will they label any protest "transphobia"?

Link to current YHA policy

CliffsofMoherVisitor

I hadn't realised that 12 years olds could be in these dorms. What does their safeguarding policy say about mixed sex bedrooms and washing facilities for girls sharing with unknown men?

Absolutely awful. I think the more people that write in about how terrible these policies are for women and children the better. If this sort of thing continues, women and girls will be confined to our homes, which I'm pretty sure is the end game for a lot of TRAs.

It's shocking. I cannot see how the system can continue to disrespect women's safety.

Doesn't the Equality Act say that men with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment are supposed to be treated the same as other men? Only males with GRCs are supposed to be treated as women.

www.hostellingscotland.org.uk/our-approach-to-inclusion/

Syha policy

@truthisarevolutionaryact 12 if accompanied by an adult. 16 if unaccompanied.

Ffs

Having had a quick scan of the last thread about the Scottish YHA guidelines I'd put money on it that this is the sop to women complaining about being forced to share bedrooms, showers etc with strange men. "Well we suppose that if you've been sexually assaulted you could ask to be with other women but you'll have to tell a random stranger us first and then we might find you a safe room".

Unbelievable - but happening everywhere. Predators rule evidently.

Oh yes please YHA! Do let us know how you identify these predators. It will save loads of time we would have otherwise wasted on safeguarding

Shall we ask them if that ruddy Welsh dog has been about again, eating the Equality Impact Assessment?

Thanks for the link Cliffs

Lets ALL write to them. Half an hour well spent.

So as a mother on finding that there's a strange male in the room, presumably (assuming that I haven't kicked up an almighty row) I have to stay alert / awake all night to ensure my child's safety.

Patriarchy at work here:

Women who have been abused must out themselves [see also Rape Clause in Universal Credit]

But abusive men must always be accommodated and their abuse must always be confidential.

Well what if you are a woman of faith

For fucks sake why can’t we just go on a trip and stay in a hostel and know that we will be safe and not bunking up with a random guy

Ffs is it asking to much

I would be interested to see the result @freakshowdown Don't put yourself through anything traumatic though please.

I don't know how they'd check whether there was a transgender person due to be in your room? Surely the transgender person could just put "Female" for gender and no-one would know until they turn up at the hostel? So the 14 days thing is irrelevant I'd have thought?

I will find time tomorrow to write to them complaining about their requirement that sexually abused women disclose this to them if they want a safe place to sleep. I'll also ask for a dated copy of their equality impact assessment on mixed sex sleeping accommodation and also for a copy of their safeguarding procedures.

I also think with YHA when people catch on, couples will just claim the male is a self-identified woman so they can bunk in together.

I’ll complain about it. I think everyone should. And I’ll talk about it IRL and encourage others to complain, relatives, friends, workmates, etc.

It’s as though they really don’t give a toss about the safety of women and girls.

Or as though they’re living on another planet where abusers don’t exist. A planet we and our daughters can all happily share rooms with strange men, tra la la, and nothing bad will ever happen to us, because everyone knows men never ever perv on strange women and girls, don’t they?

It is quite repulsive.

And why not, of course, if single sex spaces have effectively been ruled out.

Glasgow tramway changed the loos to accommodate a group of women of faith. From being gender neutral back to being women’s loos

So they admitted that it was a problem.

I mean we all know it’s a problem. Yet women who dont have faith.

Yeah to bad for you women

Is the effect of this policy seriously that a woman or girl turning up at a yha may have to share a room with a male bodied person? A complete stranger, male, overnight, in the dark, when asleep and vulnerable?

Yes it's exactly this. With the additional factors that a) I don't think they make this policy obvious (i.e a woman staying at the hostel who wasn't aware of it already wouldn't be specifically told) and b) guests can arrive at different times. So a woman could go to bed believing she was in a single-sex dorm, but a male-bodied person could be admitted while she slept and she would be entirely unaware until she woke up/until something happened. It's hard to believe I know, but appears to be true...

It's another example of how females are steadily getting excluded from places and activities.

Public toilets, swimming pool changing areas, clothes shops fitting rooms, girl guide camps and now the YHA.

They clearly know their point at which a man's risk profile changes from that of a man to that of a woman . Fantastic, we can finally make some progress on this whole shebang.

Seriously, why bother having the pretence of single sex facilities?

I am actually speechless on the abuse victim suggestion. Who the actual fuck thought that was reasonable?

AyeRobot
They'll call it 'listening to feedback from women.

Children who are sexually abused go through years of therapy, with qualified experienced people. They have suffered horribly. They deserve privacy. How on earth is it consistent with this for their parents to have to notify the yha of the abuse if they want a male free room?

Privacy for sexual abuse victims doesn’t matter?

Does the yha have any idea how hideously distressing it is for parents to have to disclose that their children have been sexually abused? Even to qualified persons, let alone a completely unqualified irrelevant member of yha staff? How grotesquely invasive that is for the child concerned? How much parents and children have to struggle to get past sexual abuse? The yha seriously thinks sexual abuse is something suitable for exposure in the context of just trying to book a holiday?