CALL FOR ACTION Women&Equalities committee calling for evidence on GRA reform - again?!?

[Cwenthryth]

committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/291/reform-of-the-gender-recognition-act?fbclid=IwAR2OBw5dDqd0oWBzQrZOjcxb7N0S34f_rEWw7QVnOuzeQfI55co_w0CvFsc
Not quite sure why they’re asking all these same questions again, but looks like we all have more homework to do!

Slightly off topic but I was just having a quick look through Hansard to see if I could find details on when this inquiry was decided and there was a debate on LBT women's healthcare in March

hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-03-10/debates/CD9E6213-BA77-469D-AABC-8308711DFF6B/LesbianBisexualAndTransWomen%E2%80%99SHealthInequalities?highlight=woman%20equalities#contribution-21E1AEFC-B63E-457D-A7B1-D7D2BE8593A2

In Hannah Bardell's fourth block of speech:

'Stonewall Scotland’s survey of LGBT people in Scotland found that half had experienced depression in the past year, including seven in 10 trans people, and that more than half of trans people have thought of taking their own life in the past year. Let us just reflect on that. Half of trans people have thought of taking their own life in the past year. So when we think about and reflect on the debate that is currently ongoing, we must look at that statistic and take it very, very seriously.

Bob Stewart (Beckenham) (Con)

The hon. Lady refers to half of trans people. Can she put a figure on that? I would like to know, because that is terribly sad.

Hannah Bardell

The statistic in the Stonewall Scotland report is 52%. That is specific to Scotland. I do not have the exact number, but I am very happy to get it and to share it with the hon. Gentleman. It is a significant number.

If the above is correct (and I'm afraid I am cynical), surely it reinforces more than ever that a large proportion of the trans community need access to psychological support to address this aspect? Also might this inquiry give a good opportunity for the Stonewall figures to be scrutinized and shown to be not statistically robust?

I think it is an excellent opportunity to clarify sex and gender confusions. The lack of clarity does not serve anyone who understands the two to be separate and one extremely woolly no favours and leaves huge holes that make the job of courts and tribunals harder.
Before filling it in, I would welcome some legal thoughts as well as women, fpfw, ssa etc

As someone who has experience working on these inquiries/consultations, I can offer some advice. Unless you have professional standing, it really is best to write from your own perspective and not try to write a legal/medical paper. Without demonstrable expertise in those areas, your thoughts are unlikely to be given much weight. You’re much better off writing about your feelings - that’s very useful to committees who want to understand how policy and law affects people on the ground.

What the actual fuck??! A month after they finally gave a conclusion to the previous round of these exact questions?

This is like fighting fucking developers. They only have to win once, and every time women manage to keep their foot in the door they just start the process all over again. Are this bloody committee just planning to throw time and consultation about this until people being consulted get it right provide the desired answers? And please note: they got EVERYTHING they wanted from the reform EXCEPT the removal of sex based rights from women. That's it. That's all. That's the goal, let's be honest about this.

We said if this came up again, it would be time to refocus and compaign on repealing the GRA altogether. Don't amend the fucking thing, it's never going to satisfy those who want women obliterated and subordinated in law, it will always be this salami process of pushing the boundary over and over again, and it's been proven beyond all doubt that it's merely a vehicle for extremist misogyny and legal confusion. It's no longer needed, stop repurposing the thing and repeal it.

that’s very useful to committees who want to understand how policy and law affects people on the ground.

This committee had reams of information about how this policy and law would affect women on the ground. The problem is not that they do not know.

Ireland Brexit. Just repeat the fucking exercise until you get the 'right' answer.

There's an article by Caroline Noakes in The Times

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/it-is-time-to-end-the-delays-over-trans-equality-cx2zsh0tw

Thanks for the advice kistanbul

Personal experiences, how we feel as an individual, in response to the specific questions asked.

If anyone does have relevant professional expertise or experience then I would ask to please respond in that capacity.... there is provision for anonymity, which I think given the way women who openly admit they don’t believe in gender are harassed and abused by trans activists, anonymity must be granted to submissions on request otherwise many women would be too fearful to participate.

Given that at least 1 in 5 women suffers sexual assault or rape, almost always at the hands of males, I would say that a huge, huge proportion of women have completely pertinent and relevant personal feelings on the matters involved. I think you'd be hard put to find a woman who hasn't got relevant experience, tbh.

mobile.twitter.com/LordLucasCD

Extremely useful insights on Ralph Lucas's Twitter

Thanks, Escape.

Very useful.

'Submissions from individuals are valued, especially if they are focussed (you can leave it to Women’s Place et al to make the blockbuster submissions), well argued, bring in new lines of thought and evidence, ...
.. and are respectful of counter-arguments. Your aim should be to have the committee, including some who are not wholly on your side, say ‘that’s a point I would like to see in the final report’. Two pages is enough: you get a huge amount of reading, and members will do ...

their best to get through it all, but clarity and good structure will get you read carefully. The old Dick Francis technique: use the first two lines to make them want to read the first page, and the first page to make them want to read it all. ...
Where you can point up and support a compromise solution, do. This is the territory that a committee will occupy if it can, so help them choose the compromises that work best for you.'

All of which they already have in piles from the last consultation.

Are these the committee members? Caroline Noakes, who wrote the article linked upthread, is the chair:

committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/membership

This is some good advice on how the process works and what to say.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1321380352976408578.html

Sorry, just saw it had already been posted!

This is like applications for planning permission to wreak a bit of destruction that local people don't want: we have to fight it and win again and again and again and again, they only have to win once.

Caroline Noakes seems to be Maria Miller mark 2.
This makes me want to weep, at the moment I feel such despair.
'Hope has two lovely daughters: anger and courage' Augustine of Hippo

Tomorrow I get angry.

Hadn't read this page, sorry MichelleofzeResistance for repeating your point.

Please don't worry, it really helps to know it's not only me thinking it!

This is like applications for planning permission to wreak a bit of destruction that local people don't want: we have to fight it and win again and again and again and again, they only have to win once.

This is how I see it too. Why are they asking about self ID yet again, when the government formally said no a month or so ago? What is the justification? Why are they wasting taxpayers money on it during a pandemic, when this issue has been dealt with apart from the details of streamlining the application process?

@Imnobody4

Caroline Noakes seems to be Maria Miller mark 2. This makes me want to weep, at the moment I feel such despair. 'Hope has two lovely daughters: anger and courage' Augustine of Hippo

Tomorrow I get angry.

On the upside a resurgence of engagement in women's rights has taken place as result of the attempted land grab.

Courage is a beautiful sight.

It's five years since the last inquiry. The good thing is dipshit ideas like abolishing of legal gender completely would have been slated for this inquiry this time around.
futureoflegalgender.kcl.ac.uk/2020/04/30/responding-to-gender-critical-feminism-on-gender-sex-and-a-generous-feminist-politics-in-anxious-times/
As a result of the massive public pushback they're now reduced to impotent meeping about feminism's refusal to ignore the impact of sex, in largely unread blogs.

I think that was £750k or so of taxpayers' money pissed up the wall, wasn't it?

Perhaps we could have a survey about how women’s mental health has been impacted by this assault on us as women. Would this count as evidence. I am sure there are more than a few that have felt suicidal as a result. A poll here on Mumsnet perhaps. How do we do it? Sorry, no experience..

@Angryresister

Perhaps we could have a survey about how women’s mental health has been impacted by this assault on us as women. Would this count as evidence. I am sure there are more than a few that have felt suicidal as a result. A poll here on Mumsnet perhaps. How do we do it? Sorry, no experience..

I think that it's time we heard about the impact on women's mental health of the loss of single sex spaces, gender ideology on children, the erasure of the words that we use to describe ourselves and our experience, the coercion, threats, abuse and intimidation. Women, in 2020, cannot meet publically to discuss our rights without security risks, attack and fear.

This is the state of women's rights in 2020. If we talk about our experiences of rape, dv or abuse we are 'weaponising' our experience.

We are not permitted to explain why we object

we are not permitted to meet

we are not permitted to discuss the issues

And if you doubt that what I say above is true, then I challenge you to state, openly under your real name on social media, that a woman is an adult human female. Let me know how you get on.