NEU advice on Transgender rights

[Sarahbeans]

Hello, I am new to all of this feminism / transgender debate, and still have a lot to learn. The JKR debate raised a lot of uncomfortable feelings for me, and the way she has been treated has really opened my eyes to the misogyny women are facing today. Something I had previously thought of as "yesterday's fight." So I apologise if I am asking naive questions, as I said I am new.

My facebook today Popped up the NEU (Teaching Union)'s advice on Transgender rights. I just wanted to check whether the following claim is correct:

"What are the legal obligations on schools/colleges?
Not only is there a moral obligation to support young trans and gender-questioning students in education, but there is a legal one too. The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination of anyone with a protected characteristic. The protected characteristic of gender reassignment covers trans people.

To be protected from gender reassignment discrimination, you do not need to have undergone any specific treatment or surgery. This is because changing your physiological or other gender attributes can be an entirely personal process rather than a medical one. You can be at any stage or part of a stage in the transition process – from proposing to reassign your gender to undergoing a process to reassign your gender or having completed it.

This means that students who want to use a new name, wear new clothes or ask for a new pronoun to be used are protected under the law, regardless of whether they have, or want to have, any medical treatment.

Schools and colleges must also consider gender reassignment when looking at their responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty. This duty asks schools to proactively promote equality by thinking about their practice and changing it."

Thanks.

Their guidance is here, if you want to read it in full: neu.org.uk/advice/supporting-trans-and-gender-questioning-students

Well what the fuck is a "gender attribute" would be one of my questions?

Would that be a girl being good at maths? A boy liking pink?

As I understand it gender reassignment is the protected characteristic

And minors can’t apply for a GRC certificate

They will be violating the EA2010 as well as the safeguarding requirements if they follow that advisory.

@Kit19

That's what I thought, but as I'm new to this, I wasn't sure. I will email them to clarify, but just wanted to check first.

Thanks

@tehBewilderness

Which aspects of the Equality Act do you think they are breaching? And how would you say it breaches Safeguarding?

I do want to challenge this, but as I said I am new to this, so want to be right in what I say.

You might find this helpful in understanding the law as pertains to children and schools:
www.transgendertrend.com/uk-transgender-rights-legislation/

There is so much to learn on this issue. In the past year, my eyes have been opened. This may help you to navigate the complications:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3246322-A-Beginners-Guide-to-the-Transgender-Debate-A-Signpost-to-Useful-Mumsnet-Threads

Don’t split into boy-girl teams for sports

Rugby teams. Quite simply they've written a load of words but didn't pause to ask themselves what they meant and what the consequences might be.

There's much to argue with but the essential thing is that a child wanting to be treated as the opposite sex in school will lead to a conflict with the rights of those who actually are that sex. However, this conflict, and the rights of those not claiming to be the opposite sex, are never taken into account in these guidance documents. The is partly because these inconvenient and non-special people tend to be girls which is why their rights don't count.

The protected characteristic of gender reassignment can apply even without a GRC.

If you are emailing them, you may wish to point out that the Trans Inclusion Toolkit they list has been withdrawn by many councils, pending judicial review. If they have used it to help form their guidance, the whole thing will need to be reviewed properly.

@Nauticant

Yes, I am concerned that this could exclude some girls from sports. Particularly those children from religions which prohibit physical contact between males and females who are not related.

It just feels as though they have not thought about women at all.

It might also be worth pointing them towards evidence of the harm which can be caused by the “affirmation” approach. The Kiera Bell case for starters, the BBC Newsnight documentary about the Tavistock and the recently updated NHS guidance.

The NEUs members rely on them for clear advice on the law, so they really need to look harder at this.

Thank you chloecrocodile and idontsmokeivape. I will look these up and add to my ever increasing letter. But please keep them coming.

I’d also point out that single sex toilets are a legal requirement in schools and they need to make this clear. “Gender neutral” toilets are only acceptable in schools when the entire toilet facility (including wash basin) is in a single-occupancy room. Making normal school toilets “gender neutral” would be very risky from a safeguarding perspective.

They need to remove the link to the gingerbread person too. That links the words “man” and “woman” to gender identity. This is factually incorrect - and as we are all teachers of literacy and numeracy it is vital that we use the dictionary definitions of words.

Their guidance also uses “sex assigned at birth”. As a science teacher, this terminology is likely to confuse students who are still learning about primary and secondary sex characteristics - none of which are “assigned” either at birth or any time later. Again, as teachers we need to be very careful with the language we use, and having deliberately confusing language doesn’t help any students, regardless of whether or not they are trans.

Is Kiri Tunks not in a senior position at the NEU? She is a founding member of WPUK. I wonder whether it might be width trying to contact her? I spoke to her at the Liverpool meeting and she makes sense, but I'm not sure whether she is a lone dissenter in the NEU.

Finally, no teacher should be asking a child’s permission to disclose something to another adult. Teachers should ALWAYS be clear with every child that they will share information without the child’s permission if the teacher feels it necessary. They need to remove any suggestion that the child’s permission should be sought before discussing things with a parent.

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination of anyone with a protected characteristic. The protected characteristic of gender reassignment covers trans people.

Another protected characteristic is sex. This means that it is not discriminatory to treat boys differently from girls in certain circumstances, such as providing different toilets or changing rooms or sports teams.

Without a GRC, a boy with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment should not be discriminated against compared to other boys. So the comparator for a boy who thinks he's a girl is other boys, not girls. Boys shouldn't be allowed into girls changing rooms or sports teams just because they think they are girls. They shouldn't be prevented from using the boys' changing rooms or toilets, or competing against other boys just because they think they are girls.

The NEU has also published this:

neu.org.uk/press-releases/liz-truss-and-gender-recognition-act?fbclid=IwAR2bH5GuOj_G-52_H9CPwK0Dfcf92eCAsqILsTllgm0l-uvextbn69hBo4E

In which they state:

"It is not legitimate to encourage the public to think that supporting rights and respect for trans workers will be at the expense of women workers or women’s rights."

I do find it very concerning.

I’m terrified about it all. I raised concerns with my dd’s headteacher and she pretty much fobbed me off with I have no right to say anything about what my dd is taught at school.

Not only is there a moral obligation to support young trans and gender-questioning students in education, but there is a legal one too. The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination of anyone with a protected characteristic.
No one is proposing discriminating against gender questioning students and Every teacher will want to offer support.

The protected characteristic of gender reassignment covers trans people. No, it covers those with a GRC which doesn't include under eighteens.

To be protected from gender reassignment discrimination, you do not need to have undergone any specific treatment or surgery.
This is partly true. No medical treatment is required, but an administrative legal process is required to grant a GRC

This is because changing your physiological or other gender attributes can be an entirely personal process rather than a medical one. You can be at any stage or part of a stage in the transition process – from proposing to reassign your gender to undergoing a process to reassign your gender or having completed it. Again, partly true - in relation to medical transition - but misleading as it fails to mention the process to obtain a GRC.

It's poor advice from a union who should be supporting their members with correct information.

Trans students may choose to apply for a gender recognition certificate once they reach the age of 18; it would be a criminal offence for someone who has been told that someone is trans in the course of their professional role to disclose this information without the consent of the student. In all other cases, the wishes of the pupil or student in respect of disclosure should be respected.

There are a number of issues with this guidance, as previous posters have already said. So I'll just point out that this passage is also misleading.

While it is true that a student or pupil may apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate at age 18 (as long as they can show that they socially transitioned two years earlier, and provide two medical reports confirming a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and the health care professionals' support for the application), it is not true that it is on general principle a criminal offence for a teacher to disclose that a student identifies as trans without the student's consent. This particular piece of advice derives from the specific disclosure protection that those in possession of a GRC are entitled to, which sets out when a person's sex may be disclosed without their consent (and yes, there are limited circumstances where this is perfectly legal, contrary to the NEU guidance).

But no one under 18 can apply for a GRC and no one without a GRC is entitled to this specific disclosure protection. Disclosures of sensitive information about students, including where a student identifies as trans are instead governed by the usual confidentiality protocols employed at school, college or university. If a teacher discloses confidential information in breach of their employer's rules, this is typically a disciplinary matter and very rarely a criminal offence.

What's more, they go on to stipulate an absolute confidentiality that directly conflicts with safeguarding frameworks used in schools and colleges because it implies that not even the parents or carers should be told that a student identifies as trans if the student does not wish it. We know that a lack of information sharing is the root cause of most, if not all, safeguarding failures in children's cases and any such advice is therefore highly questionable. It also puts the staff member at risk of serious professional repercussions if keeping this information from the parents or carers leads to negative outcomes for the student.

Furthermore, where this concerns the under 18s, following this advice may breach the child's rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The UNCRC has established that every child has the right to have their parents or carers protect their best interests and to ensure that their human rights are upheld. Keeping such sensitive information from the parents or carers prevents them from doing so.

Thanks for all this advice. I will write to my union pointing out the errors and asking them to correct this. So if there's any more, keep them coming!!

Hi OP, you could also contact Safe Schools Alliance.

Chances are they are also on the NEUs case.

safeschoolsallianceuk.net/

The protected characteristic of gender reassignment covers trans people. No, it covers those with a GRC which doesn't include under eighteens.

You don’t need a GRC to acquire the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, you just need to have proposed that you are intending to change your gender.

Back in the day when I bled out of my vagina once a month, I would not have been offended to be called a person, ie people who menstruate.

I don’t understand in a world where people are fighting racial injustice, protesting the murder of black people by police in USA, ( not ignoring similar issues in this country), the climate emergency and oh yeah the negligent clusterfeck that is this government’s handling of the Corona pandemic, why anyone would be so discombobulated by individual’s sense of identity, I mean, really? C’mon, and as ever non binary folk and trans men are invisible ( these are most likely the people who may menstruate who do not identify as women). Always the vitriol is aimed at trans women.
Personally I’m proud to be cister, I ain’t fighting no terf war.