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

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?

Yes. It's that patriarchal that the bone they've thrown to women (and are likely congratulating themselves that they've thrown it) requires them to disclose rape or abuse to strangers.

Yes. You read it right.

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

Tbf, they do call them “single gender” dormitories. But I suspect a large number of people won’t understand the difference when they book.

Given how many women, statistically, have been sexually assaulted I would have thought very many of us could make this request.
I don't know many women by the time they're in their late 20's/30's who haven't been on the receiving end of unwanted male attention.

Shockingly, the way I read their policy, a 12 year old girl can be in a dorm on her own if her father is in the men’s dorm. Lots of separated families use YHA for a cheap break. This was my childhood holidays and I would have been hugely vulnerable to predatory ‘people’ in my dorm.

I reluctantly cancelled my direct debit last year after correspondence with them. We always stayed in family rooms as have young kids but with dd turning 16 and talking vaguely about going away with friends I was increasingly uneasy about their policy. I'd absolutely encourage you to write to them. It will probably make sod all difference but the more members who contact them the better.

This was the final email I got from them - totally ignores the fact that they can legitimately retain single sex spaces, they obviously have chosen not to.

"Thank you for your email regarding our inclusion policy.

We have not changed our inclusion policy, including our policy regarding transgender guests. It has been in use since 2016 following legal advice about how best to ensure we complied with the law. The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination on grounds of gender re-assignment status.

YHA is open to everyone in society and we have more than 80 years of experience accommodating, and welcoming, people. We have a long tradition of meeting the needs of all guests with a flexible and sensitive approach that reflects our charity values. This includes women and girls, guests of all religions and those who stay with us from many different cultures.

Our range of dormitory and private accommodation provides an inclusive environment for all, which is free from discrimination, harassment or victimisation.

All staff and volunteers go through a careful training process that includes inclusion and they are supported closely by qualified senior colleagues. Our frontline staff are trained in how to handle bespoke situations at time of admission and everyone staying with us has to present identification regardless of their sex or gender.

We regularly work with outside agencies, including recent communication with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, on our inclusion policy and will continue to do so after the government has completed their Gender Recognition Act consultation."

I've emailed them with a request about a certain hostel I've wanted to go to for a while.

Genuinely I'll go there if they accommodate me appropriately.

I've advised them I've been a victim of sexual abuse in childhood and in adulthood and ask them what details they want - dates? perpetrator relationship? offences committed?

Presumably they need to know all of that so they can decide whether my request to be accommodated is legitimate.

This is my genuine personal history here - I am able to discuss it so objectively only because, as stated by someone above, I have had several years of professional therapy for it.

I'm willing to use myself as a test case and if they can accommodate me I will go - this is not a spurious request.

bespoke situations

ah yes, we work hard to tailor each check-in experience to each lucky guest

bizarre use of language

are we able to FOI the training materials?

Yes. It's that patriarchal that the bone they've thrown to women (and are likely congratulating themselves that they've thrown it) requires them to disclose rape or abuse to strangers.

And in doing so, potentially put themselves at increased risk of being revictimised. As has been noted many times on this board, organisations with lax safeguarding arrangements attract predators and opportunists. It’s not just the other residents that are a risk, but potentially staff too - who will know (through advanced disclosure) the dates on which abused women and adolescents will be staying. God knows how all of this disclosure sits with the GDPR. It’s such sensitive data to be collecting for wholly inappropriate/over-reaching reasons. Just awful.

Also, fixed this for them:

YHA is open to everyone in society and we have more than 80 years of experience accommodating, and welcoming, people. We have a long tradition of meeting the needs of all guests with a flexible and sensitive approach that reflects our charity values. This includes women and girls who have a relaxed attitude to being sexually harrassed, assaulted and raped and aren’t bothered about not being able accurately assess the likelihood of being victimised on our premises , guests of all religions and those who stay with us from many different cultures.

In other words, no woman or girl.

God knows how all of this disclosure sits with the GDPR. It’s such sensitive data to be collecting for wholly inappropriate/over-reaching reasons

This is a very important point.

Jeez so you have to,tell them 14 days in advance that you have been sexually abused so you can b3 sure not to share a dorm with a man#

what if you are sexually abused 13 days before a YHA stay? Tough shite love, ya missed the deadline?

This is an awful policy .

I notice it's V2 2018 ....I wonder if it was updated after the publicity last year?

I don't remember seeing or anyone mentioning the "tell us if you've been sexually assaulted before " policy last year.

It's madness, and unworkable .....what can they possibly do, since they don't have the information and have made it so they can't ask what sex people are.

It's very telling that the EHRC has advised them on this !

"This is to ensure that we protect genuine transgender guests from
those fraudulently seeking to gain access to shared spaces."

I'm a bit baffled by this extract from the policy.

Why are they protecting only transgender people from imposters? Could there be any clearer clue who's side they are on?

Thank you for your email regarding our inclusion policy.

We have not changed our inclusion policy, including our policy regarding transgender guests. It has been in use since 2016 following legal advice about how best to ensure we complied with the law. The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination on grounds of gender re-assignment status.^

This is a complete misrepresentation of the law (thanks no doubt to the likes of Stonewall). Why won't they listen?

I have a vague plan for next summer of hiking & camping in the U.K. with my 3 teenage dc & the bff of one of them, so 4 kids in all.

If - & it was definitely a planned possibility - I wanted to use YHA hostels, my assumption was that 16yo ds would be in a male dorm (fine), & I'd be in a female one with the three girls, aged 15-13.

So if I want to ensure no males identifying as women rock up in the middle of the night to share with us, I'm expected to share with YHA a fortnight in advance whether any of myself, my daughters or their friend have at some point been sexually assaulted?!

I'd qualify, FWIW, but that's not information I feel I need to share with YHA frankly. Nor can I take on loco parentis for another teenager if I can't guarantee her safety in an all-female dorm.

This would be necessary also given her faith/cultural background - I know from previous holidays & interactions with her parents that they'd expect me to have her sleeping very much separately from my ds (& perfectly reasonably so), never mind passing male bodied randoms.

This can't stand.

Are they going to put a sign on the dorm door or a flag on the booking at Reception "NO TRANSWOMEN IN HERE, ABUSED WOMAN PRESENT"?

The misogyny is strong in that document.

I note that they wish to protect trans people from “fraudulent” people (as they should) but not the rest of us?

Is it worth putting on aibu so people who don’t come here will know, and can adjust their plans if approved?

.

freakshow for what you experienced, and for putting yourself out like that by contacting them - look after yourself first though.

My daughter has stayed in a few hostels travelling recently and they are mixed dorms, but every hostel has the option of a private room if you prefer- she was travelling with her boyfriend and in some places the private room was barely more than 2 dorm rates, others they were in the dorm so she was pleased it was mixed. I'm not belittling your concerns but I don't think predatory males are going to be stalking the hostels of Britain pretending to be trans gender plus the hostel is really quiet so they get an opportunity. Another woman could also be the perpetrator of course. I'm actually more comfortable with my dd staying with her boyfriend in the bunk below.

ARe the YHA aware that up to 25% of women are sexually abused over their life’s? ARe the YHA making their policy of allowing single sex spaces for abused women clear?

SO unixsex facilities are great if the woman’s is travelling with a protector?

Not to mention the effect on staff who might have been sexually abused themselves of having to deal with these disclosures.

Great for your daughter, stucknoue. I’m single (and gay) and on a low income so I can’t afford to pay at least double to be assured a private room and I don’t have a male protector to take with me. I assume it’s ok for me to be sexually assaulted, or (more likely) to cancel my holiday plans, then?