Kemi Badenoch could rewrite law to allow trans exclusion from single-sex spaces - The Guardian

[TheBiologyStupid]

According to The Guardian:

Kemi Badenoch is considering changing the Equality Act to allow organisations to bar trans women from single-sex spaces and events, including hospital wards and sports.

The change by the equalities secretary would redefine sex in the 2010 act to specifically refer to legal protections for “biological sex” – the sex assigned at birth.

Badenoch asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to advise on the change, it emerged on Tuesday. The equalities watchdog said the new definition would make it possible to exclude trans people from same-sex spaces even if they hold a gender recognition certificate (GRC).

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/04/kemi-badenoch-could-rewrite-law-to-allow-trans-exclusion-from-single-sex-spaces

The Guardian fails to mention the extent to which exemptions already allow for single-sex provision, regardless of possession of a GRC. But it looks like a step in the right direction is in the offing, and the EHRC's position looks promising.

Sex Matters said:
This is a measured and thoughtful analysis from the EHRC. We are confident that our proposed amendment will deliver substantial improvements in clarity and fairness, but for now we are content with the conclusion that it merits further consideration.

Go Keni. Look at the disaster zone the GRA has turned Ireland into. It's grim. Barbie Kardashian is Irelands posterboy for gender identity.

Kemi keep your country on the right side of history. Do your upmost for biological women's rights.

Cheering on from Ireland!

Good.

According to BBC News it’s on the front pages of The Times and the Daily Telegraph.

Ireland take note. We need to learn from our neighbours. Good on Scotland getting the ball rolling & c'mon Britain!

Kemi Badenoch is considering changing the Equality Act to allow organisations to bar trans women from single-sex spaces and events, including hospital wards and sports.

Is it really impossible to report this correctly?

Kemi Badenoch is considering changing the Equality Act to make clear that single-sex spaces and events, including hospital wards and sports, are permitted, and do not have to admit people of the opposite sex, regardless of their gender reassignment status or possession of a GRC.

Organisations will NOT be allowed to bar trans women from single-sex spaces (for the correct sex). That would be discrimination on the basis of "gender reassignment" - made clearer by the change.

Since that's all already covered by the equality act it's not a change is it? Some lobby groups have tried to expand the meaning of sex to include gender identity and all Kemi is doing is seeing to correct that. Good for her and shame on the guardian.

Given that the Equality Act was written at a time when there was no suggestion in the mainstream that some men were actually women, it is a near certainly that those writing it intended single-sex to mean exactly that.

The current attempt to change the meaning of the word woman, to include some men, is a direct attempt to thwart the reasonable provisions set in place to protect women.

Such a change would be very welcome. However, given the current misuse of the law, and the failure of so many women’s organisations to prioritise women, I’m not sure it will be enough without a stricter requirement to actually provide women’s single sex spaces where they are needed.

It will embolden organisations to maintain single sex provision without fear of legal action. This seems to be the main reason that so many orgs believe they have to allow men who say they are women to use female only spaces.

Good hope she does .

Tide is turning

Bravo to Sex Matters for spearheading this campaign

And two fingers up to stonewall

Excellent Stonewall should be closed down

The NHS is so political they will never ban a transwoman from either treating women or ban them from vulnerable females on "Female" wards.

Kemi Badenoch is considering changing the Equality Act to allow organisations to bar trans women from single-sex spaces and events, including hospital wards and sports.

It's all about the men.

The headline is inaccurate, trans people are not and will not be excluded from single sex spaces because everyone has a sex. The Guardian continues to flush itself down the toilet.

It’s great news - can they get this through before the next election?

my worry is even with this in place so much funding from councils etc. relies on including trans women in women’s spaces. Plus how many organisations and businesses are captured so won’t make use of the provision.

I think a cultural change is also needed which will be harder and take time.

Great news and well done Sex Matters for getting this far.

A couple of questions, apologies if they've been answered on another thread.

If the definition of sex is clarified it seems that it will be easy to protect single sex spaces from self identifiers but how will it work with holders of GRCs?

Also, what power does the Woman's and Equality Committee have? Could the block any amendment to the EA that Kemi proposes?

Of course The Guardian twists the story to fit their editorial stance. What a dumpster fire that paper is.

More lies in a desperate hope to gain votes I suspect.

Various places can still choose not to though, as I understand it.

So gyms can still choose a mixed sex, single gender, policy as I understand it.

Which I find infuriating.

I'm interested to see what will happen when trans men are made to use women's spaces. The doors will effectively be thrown open to all men as you won't be able to tell them apart.

Trans men won't be 'made' to use female spaces in the same way that female spaces will be enabled to exclude males. Men are less protective over male spaces because they have less at risk. Trans men will continue to use men's toilets if they pass as male and nobody will stop them. If they don't pass as male they should be using the female loos anyway.
Strengthening the EA definitions will apply most relevantly to things like female only prisons, refuges, crisis centres, counselling services, changing rooms etc. Very few orgs will start to use the exemptions to exclude trans men from male spaces because a) there isn't such a need to do so, transmen being provided for by all the female services listed above and b) men don't care about transmen in their spaces the way women care about males, for obvious (I hope) reasons.

And women can choose not to use companies with such policies - but at least you'll be able to ask and shop around if you don't like the policy.

Thank you for your post NecessaryScene. It's very useful to have it broken down that way.
The Tories really are playing a blinder on this.

@Cantbelieveitsnotbetter Maybe hard to tell in a photo but the transmen I know are female height, female proportions, female hands, female shoulders and as soon as they walk you can usually tell. Even someone who passes as well as Buck Angel you can tell from videos of him walking on stage etc.

"Passing" is irrelevant. Sex is.

The Guardian is an irrelevant rag. They're no better than Pink News on this topic. The Times article is much better (there's a thread on that too).

It's amazingly good news! Love Kemi. What a hero!