Sunak: I’ll change the Equality Act to protect women’s spaces

[Binglebong]

Sorry to dump and run but this needed sharing.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/06/02/rishi-suank-equality-act-protect-womens-spaces-tory/

I don't think they'd dare......

https://x.com/SkyNews/status/1797516353995166187

Kemi B on Sky.

True. You can't ask to see a GRC and you certainly don't want to inspect their genitals. But it used to be ok to police single-sex spaces based on a cursory inspection, and now it isn't. This stupid law did that!

Yes, that's what I heard her say too. It left me thinking there would be no real change. Her point appeared to be about protecting businesses from being sued, Yaniv style, rather than about single sex spaces.

The lack of clarity over what 'sex' means has created the confusion, as well as the manipulation of words and meanings by pressure groups and activist organisations. It is they that have created the need for greater clarification. Before nobody needed to have it explained quite so clearly what sex was.

No, based on what Kemi said earlier. It would be up to the businesses to decide. As now.

I guess the spending power of pro trans people has caused businesses to lobby the Tories about it. Tories gonna Tory aren't they.

Next step after this one is the issue of 'third spaces' - thus resolving the issue of what trans identified people are " supposed to do".

The key part is not being sued and stop TRAs exploiting the law

Good.

Over to Labour - Self ID via GP / medic so far

I think a simpler change would be to update the GRA so that the existence of a GRC needed to be declared in certain circumstances.

I hope Labour will do that as part of their reforms and would love to see feminists campaigning for that instead of attacking Labour.

The interview focused on paperwork

That’s not the main aim it’s to take the legal threat out via the legal change to the EqA

We are at the point of Rishi saying anything to get more votes. He needs to get rid of gender recognitions certificates. The majority do no accept these certificates. You can't get a certificate that makes you a women.

I think a simpler change would be to update the GRA so that the existence of a GRC needed to be declared in certain circumstances.

This would certainly put it into line with things like DBS.

Maybe. But is Labour a party for women? Are the Lib Dems? So far they've successfully muddied the water so much about the type of "woman" that they support that we still have no clear idea about where this is going.

Clarifying the meaning of woman in the EA is a good holding step and if Labour commit to this (that woman = biological women for EA purposes) than that would be a win.

Fucking hate it when the Tories are the only ones talking sense on this.

So do I!

It's the issue I feel strongest about and it hurts so much to put a cross in any box that carries on the stupidity. I would never vote Tory as I want money to be redirected into communities, but this is so damn hard!

C'mon Starmer - pleeeeease wake up and smell the coffee, see the light, let the scales fall from your eyes and every other epiphany cliche in existence. Pleeeeease!

Sonia Sodah is being very vocal about this; I hope she's included in news discussions somewhere

x.com/soniasodha/status/1797535260349223167?s=46&t=A2fpFNgDRyXF2d6ye97wEA

Clarifying the meaning of woman in the EA is a good holding step and if Labour commit to this (that woman = biological women for EA purposes) than that would be a win.

Yes. Regardless of various arguments on how KBadenoch is going about this, the key issue is that Labour will not agree with it. They can't.

I know you want to vote Labour but generally politicians care about votes and Labour knows they have yours already

They won’t change for pleas but see it as giving mandate for their pledges re GP Self ID

I think we are getting to this point of discussion.

The government has been clear about there being issues with the legal structure impeding what they wanted to release in the schools guidance. There is still doubt expressed by organisations around the EA and what the exceptions for GRC holders means realistically and practically. Plus if those certificates are going to be made even easier to get under Labour, the original thinking behind the certificates has expanded.

And all this before women then have to start to push organisations to use those exceptions.

It is a mess.

Superb point from Sonia Sodah.

The Labour response. "Not needed".

"Labour has dismissed Conservative plans to define “sex” as biological in the eyes of the law to protect female-only spaces like changing rooms and lavatories (writes Oliver Wright).

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, said the proposals were “not needed”.

His comments put clear a dividing line between Labour and the Tories on the contentious issue and will be seized on by the Conservatives to suggest that the opposition is not committed to women’s rights.

Speaking on BBC Five Live Healey said: “This is an election distraction from the really core issues that matter to people like the cost of living and the defence of the country,” he said.

“The Equality Act, which Labour brought in in 2010 and the Tories opposed, already protects single sex spaces for biological women. It already defines what a woman is. What’s certainly needed is clearer guidance and for service providers about how to safeguard those women."

General election latest: Kemi Badenoch defends gender laws pledge

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a49ea613-cb3c-4742-982e-9087ff5e8489?shareToken=d09f435185dcb0cdf447f125147d2acf

Yes more of that

It is a mess, Helle.

For years people pretended it was a wonderful, progressive idea that men could become women.

Then we've had a realisation that there are some glaringly obvious issues with this.

Now we've got to the point where we realise that the law is fucked and many of the problems stem from bad law.

In the case of a state sector organisation, such as a prison, though some of these are now privatised.

But KB was very specific on this, charities etc and sports will, as now, make up their own minds.

Hot air, nothing has changes, its all Smoke and Mirrors.

It's in their policy

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/24/labour-will-lead-on-reform-of-transgender-rights-and-we-wont-take-lectures-from-the-divisive-tories

"We will make sure that nothing in our modernised gender recognition process would override the single-sex exemptions in the Equality Act. Put simply, this means that there will always be places where it is reasonable for biological women only to have access. Labour will defend those spaces, providing legal clarity for the providers of single-sex services."

I'd day Badenoch has in fact just restated Labour's position with her "it's up to businesses to choose" bit.

Labour will deflect as they do

No change there. It is needed they have given no solution in that blurb