What do you think should happen to the Gender Recognition Act (GRA)?

[TERFisTHEnewTREND]

Personally, I can't believe this act was ever passed! I know 2004 was a different time, but still!

I believe that the only way of moving past the gender madness in law is to revoke the GRA. "Gender" is about as useful as someone's favorite type of music, so it has no place on a legal document.

As for what should happen to those who already have a GRA... well, I think some of them are owed an apology by those who told them that this piece of paper would change their sex (which it doesn't).

What do others think?

Repeal, it's a bad law that is actively causing harm to women

It needs repealing.

Ultimately it needs repeal. But I can't see a Labour government doing that. There would have to be huge public pressure and I don't see that at the moment. As for those who have a GRC I think their rights as granted by that would have to be maintained.

Definitely needs repealing.

I wouldn't repeal it but I would make it worthless.

I'd change the terminology, removing references to male and female as "genders," and calling them "masculine" and "feminine". The definitions would make it clear that it is essentially about stereotypes.

I'd include a provision for ID documents to retain a biological sex marker and have an optional field for gender identity.

And I'd make it clear that a GRC doesn't grant access to any single sex spaces for the opposite sex.

The GRA needs to go.

Personally I would like to see it repealed, and instead have a new box added to birth certificates, passports, drivers licences and all records that are kept so people could self-id any gender that they may claim but there sex is always accurately recorded. I would also like to make it a criminal offence for any man to enter female single sex spaces (except for 1st aiders in a medical emergency etc)

How many people apply for them?

Don’t most not bother?

How would it make a difference if it was done away with?

(I genuinely don’t really understand as so many people don’t have or seem to want one).

Feckin' repealed.

It’s regressive nonsense that has sexist language written in as legislation, and as such should be repealed.

The danger of letting it remain is that it is a trojan horse and removing the medical element will open the floodgates (as they tried in Scotland).
It should be repealed. As an intermediate step I would clear up the terminology to make it clear that changing gender does not change your sex or give you access to single sex facilities.

A disastrous law with mounting repercussions

Women and now children via indoctrination in schools

Repeal or make it worthless

Admit it was a huge mistake by Labour and finally move on

Not that many, as far as I am aware.

The problem is that because they exist and there is no way of checking who has one, we know that some men are legally women and the possibility of the man who wants to strip off next to you in the women's changing rooms being legally a woman is not zero, so in practice the small number of people who actually have one are enabling a much larger number of people to behave as though they do.

Repeal the GRA.

But, no, do not put any gender ID boxes on any legal documents. Personal beliefs and ideologies have no place on legal documents. Do you get to put your religious group or political party affiliation on your documents? No, because it is not appropriate.

Birth certificates must be accurate records of the individual's birth.

Conversion certificates are only relevant in establishments that deal with that religion. Not in day to day life.

It desperately needs to be repealed. I can't see any government having the guts to though. Especially not labour.

I'd repeal it, too - though I agree that this is a big political ask, so I'd settle, in the short term, for an amendment making it clear that this is a polite legal fiction, not any sort of reality, and that it doesn't give the bearer any access at all to facilities, spaces or services for the opposite sex.

The other thread prompted me to start reading the Hansard record of the debate, led by David Lammy when Labour were in government.

There was ten years of cross-party parliamentary campaigning before that bill was introduced. Several MPs talked about constituents approaching them about the difficulties they faced as transsexuals.

It was presented as being all about a medical condition suffered by a tiny number of individuals and giving them “the rights appropriate to their acquired gender”. And also affording those individuals privacy.

There’s no way Labour is going to repeal the GRA.

They’ve made quite clear they want to get rid of the assessment process - an assessment process which they stressed the importance of back in 2003 - to make it easier to change “gender”. aka access the “rights” of the opposite sex.

Jeez, the Equality Act is flawed, but this one is just terrible, with its legal fictions. I share that the doubt that it'll be disappearing any time soon, though.

It needs to be flushed down the toilet.

There have been just under 5,000 certificates issued since the act came into being. So tiny and irrelevant.

I don’t think the GRA is the real problem. It does not give a trans sexual person who has changed their legal sex, any legal rights to access women’s spaces.

However it is ludicrous (in law) to suggest that there is such a thing as a “legal sex” that is contrary to biological reality except for people who were born with an intersex disorder. So i agree it needs to go.

It is the Equalities Act, and its loose definitions, plus the misinterpretations as promoted by Stonewall et al, that is the problem.

I read the correspondence between Badenoch and the Equalities commission where advice was sought on firming up the Equalities Act on the definition of sex as a protected characteristic.

It was interesting because in the commissions response it pretty much said yes, the definition of sex needs addressing, but went on to say you actually need to look at the definition of a transitioning person as a protected characteristic as well.

That advice will not change whomsoever is in power.

My new years revolution is that, as a newly educated Terf, I want to find a way to coordinate all us warriors on a proper political push back on all this nonsense. There is plenty of us.

It absolutely needs repealing. It was originally thought up prior to same sex marriage as the Tory’s couldn’t stomach that, but hey ho, let men think they can change sex.

Most of these men, around 90%, are fully intact males. Autogynephile straight men are not Transexuals, who are usually gay men.

This all impacts negatively on DBS checks, same sex NHS wards, prisons….

And Women defending it need to look at what Autogynephilia actually is.

It won't disappear anytime soon. It also won't be repealed without a fight.

As previously mentioned, its biggest use to men is as a way into women's spaces without challenge on the basis that they might legally be a woman.

We need to campaign until it is repealed.

Interesting.

Do you think changing the definition to biological sex in the EqA is a way to resolve the issues?

I agree with this.

I would like to repeal the GRA ideally. But it could be replaced by something worse. Far better to remove all the secrecy clauses in the GRA, and amend the definition of sex in the EQA. That would have the most truthful and advantageous effect, and trans people get to keep their paperwork.

Repeal. And hope to God Labour will never get in.