I recently wrote to my Labour MP:
The issue of single-sex spaces for women is sometimes seen as a culture-war issue, as if the protection of single-sex spaces is a reactionary, conservative, anti-trans agenda. But all the people I know who feel strongest about single-sex spaces for women (rape crisis centres, prisons, hospital wards, sports) are progressives on the left. Most are feminists, and many are Labour members.
I've lost count of the number of these people I’ve spoken to in recent months who believe Labour is misogynistic. Reasons given include:
• David Lammy’s description last year of those in Labour who want to protect single-sex spaces as ‘dinosaurs’.
• The repetition in the Party of a Stonewall line on the contested issue of gender identity; the ’no debate’ mantra that trans women are women; the controversial claim that sex is ‘assigned’ at birth; and the insistence that a self-identifying trans woman who is male-bodied should be allowed into women’s protected spaces.
• Tory MPs such as Miriam Cates from Sheffield are seen as heroes for speaking out on women’s single-sex spaces. By contrast, people see how Rosie Duffield has been treated by some Labour members for speaking out. Even Boris Johnson and Liz Truss (heaven help us) are being seen as heroes by some, because they are saying women’s spaces need to be protected. The Tories have rightly spotted there are votes in this.
I hasten to add: I take it for granted that trans people must be treated with respect, and must have rights. But my concern is the one voiced by the Labour Women’s Declaration group of party members: the agenda Labour makes most noise about is pushing through self-ID. There is no corresponding respectful debate about women’s rights, and whether self-ID encroaches on these. Many women I know are beyond furious about this, and feel betrayed.
At very least there should be a public acknowledgement in Labour that there is a proper balance of rights and protections to be found. Until there is, the Tories (whose political agenda I hate more than I can put into words) will be able to present themselves as guardians of women’s rights, and Labour as misogynistic.
We live in an age of major crises: Covid, Brexit, climate change, war in Ukraine. In comparison, this issue might appear minor. But you need to know that for lots of people I know, women’s single-sex spaces is the main issue that will determine how they vote – because it feels like the issue that most directly threatens their personal safety, and the issue that threatens to undo decades of hard-won women’s sex-based rights.
His reply:
This is a sensitive issue and with strong views on both sides. I was grateful for your thoughtful and considered email, and appreciate your concerns. I agree with you that both transgender people and women need to be treated with dignity and respect, and there is a clear need for a nuanced conversation about balancing transgender rights with the legitimate concerns about single-sex spaces.
Furthermore, it’s important that women are able to discuss these matters and for their perspective to be taken seriously. Debate should always be held in an atmosphere of respect for all points of view.
I appreciate your comments that Labour has not been clear enough in our support for women’s rights, and the need to balance these with trans rights, and will pass on your concerns to colleagues responsible for this area of policy. I am keen to receive representations on this issue to inform our policy and communication on what is a complex and important matter.