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Another local authority - Bracknell Forest Borough Council.

'My name is Sarah Holman and I believe single sex facilities are vital for women and that you can’t change sex. I believe I have been discriminated against for having these views.'

It's on crowdjustice.

Thanks. I'll be having a look.

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Read with interest. The council likened mixed-sex toilets to people of different sexes being together in lifts or in meetings! - bit of a stretch.

I work in a public sector organisation and I'm very relieved that - at present anyway - all this nonsense isn't really on the radar. A few pronouns-in-signatures and that's it, mostly.

I think she'll find it hard to prove that their use of the flag as a meeting background was deliberately intended as harassment, though. (Even if it may well have been.)

Wtf are they doing in the lifts?!

I've just noticed who is representing her:

I am represented by Elizabeth McGlone of Didlaw and Naomi Cunningham of Outer Temple Chambers.

I think Naomi Cunningham may well be able to argue that it is more likely than not to have been part of a pattern of unacceptable behaviour that breached Sarah Homan's rights not to be discriminated against for her protected belief.

She's very effective.

Going to ‘bump’ this x

Another bump from me.

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I mean, a lot of lifts (& stairwells) apparently double as public conveniences for some sections of the public, but I’m fairly sure the, er, etiquette, is that one toilets solo not communally; & its vanishingly rare for a female human to relieve herself thus 🤔

Nearly at two thirds of target.

I'm assuming whoever it was who claims that using the loo is no different from being in a meeting or a lift is a male person who hasn't yet grasped that when women use the toilet we are naked from the waist down.

It's ridiculous. They're implying that if silly women don't want men in their toilets, that must mean they shouldn't want to share any space anywhere with men. It completely misses the point that we do things in toilets (not only the obvious but washing, changing clothes, managing menstruation, etc) which we don't generally do in lifts or meetings.

Oh I agree @MelodyMalone, it is ridiculous.

Thanks. Have planted a bulb 🌷

To be fair, that's all they have by way of an argument. If they can't persuade the hard of thinking that toilets, changing rooms and showers in the workplace / public sphere are identical to those in our own homes or the direct equivalent of sharing a lift or walking up the stairs, then they're left arguing for the rights of sex offenders and predators to be given access to unconsenting women when undressed..
And that's saying the quiet bit out loud which most extreme transactivists have learnt doesn't go down well with the public.

Hello
I came across this thread - this is me! ☺️

Thank you for raising this on mumsnet. It’s been hard opening up on what has happened to me.

I'm glad poster has raised the quote about …being in a toilet is the same as being in a lift with a man….when I saw that (on a equalities impact assessment the council completed 3 weeks after the policy was approved) I was furious. But for those who may not have read the entire story the council also stated that is women raised concerns they it’s action was to “signposting to counselling” that made me doubly cross. They also have in the EIA that if we really make a fuss they could start disciplinary processes.

Effectively it was a ….”shut up women”.

Happy to answer any other questions.

Donated x

Hi Melody
I’m Sarah Holman (sartay on here and Twitter)

Yes it’s going to be tough going, but I had a number of pieces of evidence to back my claim of harassment.

For example the images on offer for use in virtual meeting backgrounds contained 13 Progress pride flags images to choose from and none for any other protected characteristic.

The Executive Director specifically sent out an email expressing strong support of the pride progress flag due to “a complaint” (mine) and how disappointed he was that a staff member dared complain. 🤐

The senior leadership, HR and Equalities manager, then kept the flag on as their backgrounds for all of July and some of August - well after pride June pride month. The only conclusion to reach is that (allegedly) this was a decision that they made and colluded to keep the flag on teams background.

Let me know what you think

That must have been a rather surreal moment!

I'm sorry you are having to go through this shit, but thank you for doing this. I don't imagine it was on your things to do in life list!

Good luck.

❤

Hello @Sartay. Thank you for fighting this on behalf of both me and my daughters. I will plant some bulbs.

Sounds like the council is using a crappy, after the fact EIA to discriminate against women, you couldn't make it up. I expect Naomi Cunningham will make mincemeat of them. Do they think they can just get away with such blatant sex discrimination? They actually say in the EIA that women who ask for single sex toilets should be disciplined? Do they think this is Afghanistan?

Signposted for counselling made me laugh - because that is so fucking outrageous. Good luck

Unfortunately they really think they are in the right. Those kinds of closed minds are difficult to open. Plus a big dollop of ignorance, the approval report on the trans policy (which went to council committee) didn’t mention the Equality Act on single sex spaces once. Not even considered.