Liz Truss WILL make a statement today

[TheFleegleHasLanded]

commonsbusiness.parliament.uk/document/40760/html

Or someone will on her behalf.

My MP said GRA statement coming today.

Also 3 new clinics!

Hopefully not all affirming that young gender dysphoric girls are boys.

Lots of facilities are gendered - in part at least because the providers have been systematically misled that that is what the law requires.

I think this is cautiously good news - it is a clear reminder that the law permits single-sex spaces. What we need to do is make sure businesses are aware of that, and that they regard as it in their interests to apply and uphold the restriction.

Hm. There's quite an important number or two missing in there.

How many GRC holders responded to the consultation?

7000 trans people, it says, and then we're told that 40% of post-transition respondents claim to have a GRC - but what proportion of the seven thousand identify as having completed their transition?

Could be a significant majority of the seven thousand, could be a mere handful of people.

And three new clinics to make it easier to get the required medical evidence sounds grand on the face of it, but in light of the problems surrounding the treatment model it's a disaster.

Still, it's a step in the right direction, and I'm bloody glad we've got the reminder that single-sex exemptions are lawful and covered by the Equality Act. That bit needs shouting from the rooftops.

I don't understand why people think this is is a victory for GC feminists. "neither biology nor gender is destiny"?! Good luck with that people who go on to get cervical and prostate cancers because they thought they'd opted out of them?!
Charging a nominal amount and putting everything online is crap. This is in no way an appropriate method that safeguards either trans people or women.
And that thing about being kind, what the hell?!?!
Massive pandering cop out in my view.

I'm confused. Where does it leave women who find themselves confronted by obviously male people in loos and changing rooms. What stops aggressive TRA claiming they are female in these circumstances? Especially if it's easier to get a GRC.
This wasn't a problem when there were only a few tw but the explosion in aggressive TRA has changed that. I don't think this statement says that I have the right to insist on female only spaces as the starting point. Only if I can prove that I am in some kind of danger.

I am pleased with it.

So many TRAs constantly told us the GRC process was an entirely irrelevant piece of admin that made no difference to trans people's lives. And the government listened and took their word for it [snigger]

Today is a good day.

Still, lots of work to do to ensure services are using the SSEs where they are needed.

oh.

Stonewall aren't happy. They report that the Repubic of Ireland have had self determination for gender recognition since 2015 without any problematic repercussions.
That isn't true - the courts have recognised and openly stated that there is a problem with self-determination and women's prisons so even if that was the only problem (which I very much doubt), it is still a problem, so their statement is untrue (unless they have self identified that having a serial sex offender in a women's prison is not a problematic repercussion).

There are indeed problems in RoI.
If a man who identifies as a woman attacks a woman, or even just makes her uncomfortable in what should be a woman's space, then we will never know, because the complaint will be about a woman, not a man.
Evidence disappears, just like that, so it's all just grand.

This is good news! Self-id is officially dead! The mechanisms to obtain a GRC are still in place but moving the procedure online and reducing the costs is a reasonable compromise. At least single-sex exemptions have been mentioned.

There's still a lot to do - ensuring all those organisations and businesses that jumped on self-id bandwagon are made to comply with the law or face court.... Ensuring single-sex exemptions are enforced and not treated like a casual choice..... Three new clinics - need to make sure teenagers are not driven down a medical pathway. Hopefully the upcoming court cases will help in this.
Also Scotland and NI still on the brink of disaster.

BUT we can all take this moment to realise how far we've come and what we've achieved. So many women have worked so hard and risked so much to build awareness and opposition to this. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I'm assuming the TRAs will hate it. Namely because they didn't get 100% their own way.

@MrsHuntGeneNotJeremyObviously

I'm confused. Where does it leave women who find themselves confronted by obviously male people in loos and changing rooms. What stops aggressive TRA claiming they are female in these circumstances? Especially if it's easier to get a GRC. This wasn't a problem when there were only a few tw but the explosion in aggressive TRA has changed that. I don't think this statement says that I have the right to insist on female only spaces as the starting point. Only if I can prove that I am in some kind of danger.

I guess this is where Ann Sinnott's action against the EHRC will help and we all need to keep writing to the relevant organisations and pointing out the law and complaining when they don't act according to the law.

Holding a GRC does not automatically entitle that individual to enter (opposite) single sex spaces. The EA 2010 allows for people to be excluded from certain spaces (I can't remember the detail but I think they specify what type of spaces eg. hospital wards, where people might be in a state of undress (changing rooms and toilets), sleeping facilities etc).

Maybe we all need a little laminate that summarises the application of the EA 2010 and any interaction with the GRA 2004 to show to people or organisations that are misinformed.

It is vague. With a lot of legal cases in the pipeline this may be intentional. However I note the three phrases. Gender identity, legal sex, biological sex.

Boundaries of language between three separate concepts. And a reminder that services can limit to biological sex where needed. The court cases may well start drawing attention to the need and requirement when designed to serve a biological sex.

BUT we can all take this moment to realise how far we've come and what we've achieved. So many women have worked so hard and risked so much to build awareness and opposition to this. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

We did stop self id, a stupid, dangerous idea. Thank you all that stood up. Thank you Mumsnet for this platform.

I'm afraid I have a sinking feeling. Trying to put my finger on why as no self id is good.
The use of the term gender identity - what's the definition.

The suggestion that transwomen with GRA have been using women's spaces without problems for years. So keeping the status quo means this just continues.

The mention of single sex spaces stressing where justified, and at the discretion of service providers. This makes the provision of single sex spaces not a right of the individual but an option for the service provider. I don't hear a strong defence.

Now they've done this are they just going to ignore what is actually happening in the real world?

In the interests of fairness and kindness, can we have a simple online process whereby for a nominal fee, I can acquire a certificate stating that due to a medical condition I require single sex spaces? This certificate could be presented to prove that my need for a single-sex accommodation is justified without having to go through the thoroughly demeaning process of being forced to disclose my trauma to all and sundry.

I'm not even being facetious. This would honestly make my life a lot easier.

And really this is where it all needs to go in the end:

• be and express whatever gender in any way you choose, your sex is no limit and you should not experience discrimination on the basis of this

• proper access to needed specialist resources for transgendered people

• the concept of biological sex remains and cannot be removed to the detriment of others/ sometimes needs will be met separately to ensure proper services for all

The Government proposed self id and has now dropped it like a hot potato.

It is a shrewd political move as now the opposition will have to decide whether to back it.

If they do they will be shredded by Tory tabloids who never really got stuck into May for proposing it.

Britain leads the world as a country where...transgender people have been.... able to use facilities of their chosen gender;

The war is far from won. This is surely giving the nod to self ID as the default practice, without actually legislating it.

Character trumps biology. Gender identity is a real thing. Bullshit.

Yes, it’s not as bad as full on self ID in law, but it’s still a massive concession, and betrays a level of institutional capture and craven kowtowing to TRA ideology that should still worry us all.

The plagiaristic equivalence with MLK‘s famous speech, as if sex segregation were in any way comparable to racial segregation, is particularly vile.

Good of course that the EA exemptions remain but until we know now easy (or not) it will be to implement those, I’m not celebrating. It reads to me like there will be de facto self ID for the most part, with women having to jump through hoops to justify spaces/services being single sex.

If it’s being lauded as a good thing that transgender people are able to use the facilities of their chosen gender, then surely that means a green light for biologically male people in women’s changing rooms (etc etc) if they say they identify as women?

I don’t think this is good news at all.

James

Shoutout from James to us as well as women’s groups

Admittedly there's mention of single-sex provision, but no acknowledgement that this has already been throw out by a load of organisations.

That is going to have to be tackled in the courts. It's a carefully worded statement so as not to upset any apple carts. Amused that Ben Cohen is claiming that it's a win as the Times had before "leaked" the possibility of genital checks.

twitter.com/benjamincohen/status/1308336548866412544?s=21

I don’t think this is good news at all.

Agreed, my heart sank reading it's

Gah, reading it.

If legal self ID had been granted, any challenge involving single sex spaces would be much harder both in theory and practice, and for that I'm going to see it as a battle won. The war is still raging.

Looks like spousal exit clause retained, which is good news for trans widows.

twitter.com/geogovuk/status/1308337614500569093?s=21