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Formal Statement on Legal Compliance Failure — Southwark Council’s Refusal to Provide Female-Only Lesbian Space under the Equality Act 2010
One unused arch. One lawful request. Total institutional silence. This isn’t inclusion — it’s breach of duty.
Jenny Watson
May 8
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Response to: “Where in the Equality Act does it say local authorities must provide trans-exclusive lesbian social clubs?”
It doesn’t. Because we’re not asking for “exclusion.”
The Equality Act doesn’t mention ‘trans-exclusive lesbian social clubs’ — because the law doesn’t recognise nonsense labels invented to discredit lawful rights. What it does do is guarantee the right to single-sex spaces under Schedule 3. And that’s exactly what we requested — lawfully, proportionately, and with overwhelming community backing.
We are asserting our right to access public resources on a lawful, same-sex basis in accordance with Schedule 3 of the Equality Act. This is particularly relevant when the council already funds or hosts mixed LGBTQ+ spaces.
We’re demanding compliance with UK law, and for Southwark Council to stop discriminating against same-sex attracted women.
Lesbians are the frontline casualties — followed home, assaulted, silenced, kicked out of our own spaces, and told we’re the problem for setting boundaries. We’re not fringe. We’re not aggressive. We’re the canaries in the coal mine — and we’ve been sounding the alarm while being punished for surviving.
Here’s what the law does say:
THE LEGAL BASIS
Under Schedule 3 of the Equality Act 2010, it is lawful to provide single-sex services where doing so is a proportionate means to a legitimate aim, such as:
Privacy
Safety
Dignity
Same-sex association
Freedom from sexual harassment or intrusion
This applies to public services, community spaces, and council-supported venues. It applies regardless of political opinion — and was reaffirmed by the UK Supreme Court in 2025, in the For Women Scotland Ltd vs The Scottish Ministers case, which confirmed that the legal definition of “woman” under the Equality Act refers to biological sex. That ruling ended any remaining legal ambiguity: councils can lawfully provide female-only spaces, and in safeguarding contexts, they have a duty to do so.
Lesbians — women who are same-sex attracted — are protected under two characteristics:
Sex and Sexual Orientation.
We are legally entitled to female-only spaces, and councils have a duty to ensure access to those spaces under the Public Sector Equality Duty (Section 149):
Eliminate unlawful discrimination
Advance equality of opportunity
Foster good relations between protected groups
WHAT WE ACTUALLY ASKED FOR
We submitted a lawful, safeguarding-based request for one disused railway arch —
400–1000 sq ft, with basic electricity and water.
That’s it.
No demand for funding
No public alcohol license
No takeover of LGBTQ+ spaces
No “special treatment”
Just one underused arch, already empty, for a private, female-only lesbian venue — run by a legally registered, asset-locked Community Interest Company — built for public benefit.
We asked for 0.25% of Southwark’s disused arch inventory.
There are 130+ empty arches in the borough.
We asked for one.
One lawful request. Zero response. This isn’t logistics. It’s discrimination — dressed up as delay.
ABOUT THE STRUCTURE
L Community is now a legally registered CIC — L Community Group CIC (Company No. 16437114). This means we are:
Non-profit
Asset-locked for public benefit
Governed by the CIC Regulator and accountable under law
Structured with no shareholders and no dividend payouts
Fully aligned with Schedule 3 of the Equality Act 2010
This is not a commercial bar. It’s a protected community infrastructure project — designed for lesbian and bisexual women who have been displaced or endangered in mixed-sex environments.
WHERE ALCOHOL IS INVOLVED
Alcohol will only be present at certain member events, and:
Supplied under a Club Premises Certificate — not a public license
Available only to pre-approved, verified members
No public sales, no external access, no walk-ins
Monitored by trained, female-only staff and tracked via QR-coded membership drink tokens
This is not a commercial venue. It’s a closed-circle, legally regulated community space — aligned with safeguarding standards and exempt under licensing law.
One unused arch delivers full compliance at zero cost to the council.
WHAT SOUTHWARK COUNCIL HAS PROVIDED INSTEAD
We conducted a full audit of Southwark’s LGBTQ+ spaces and council-backed provision. Here’s what we found:
Since 2020, £3.14 million in public money has been granted to LGBTQ+ organisations
0 of those spaces offer same-sex, biologically female-only provision
Southwark offered us:
A mixed-sex LGBTQ+ venue not open until 2026
A “women’s space” with no ability to exclude males
Meanwhile, they fund:
Trans-specific provision
Male-only recovery spaces
General LGBTQ+ services
We asked for one lawful exemption under Schedule 3 — a right we are entitled to.
They responded with delay, legal misdirection, and bureaucratic evasion.
SOUTHWARK’S PUBLIC ASSETS: HOARDING SPACE, DENYING RIGHTS
Our audit of publicly owned infrastructure in Southwark found over 390 railway arches running through the borough, from Bermondsey to Borough to Bankside.
At least 130+ are currently empty, derelict, or sitting underused, despite being part of Southwark’s £3+ billion regeneration corridor.
Southwark Council itself claims these arches are being “repurposed to serve local needs and cultural life.”
They’ve spent £3.14 million on LGBTQ+ services since 2020.
Not a single pound has gone to lesbian, biologically female spaces.
Zero arches. Zero spaces. Zero recognition.
And when lesbians ask for the legal minimum, the system calls it controversial. That is the scandal.
COMMUNITY & PROFESSIONAL BACKING
This is not an internet campaign. This is a real-world legal mobilisation, backed by:
300+ professionals: NHS staff, safeguarding officers, social workers, police, teachers and public figures, including MPs.
8+ years of weekly lesbian events, each hosting 40–150 women, entirely displaced by venue pressure
A growing network of 14,000+ women, with 2,000+ direct sign-ups to our new platform before any formal promotion or media coverage. This growth is entirely organic, driven by word of mouth, grassroots trust, and unmet need, not ad spend.
This is a safeguarding response to real-world exclusion and surveillance in mixed-sex LGBT spaces, including:
Women being filmed in public toilets
Women thrown out and assaulted for saying “no” to men
Lesbian events cancelled after pressure from male activists
When lesbians are denied even one space, that’s not inclusion. That’s hostile discrimination — in breach of the Equality Act.
Every organisation that stays silent while lesbians are erased is choosing safety over principle. That silence is recorded. And it will be remembered.
When lesbians are followed home, assaulted, violently removed from “lesbian” venues by security at the instruction of male patrons, and left to face it alone, you notice who speaks up and who vanishes.
This is a test. And the ones who failed know who they are.
FINAL WORD
So, where in the Equality Act does it say councils must provide for us?
It says it in:
Schedule 3 of the Equality Act 2010 (lawful single-sex services)
Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (Public Sector Equality Duty — duty to eliminate discrimination and meet distinct needs)
Every line that protects women’s and lesbians’ right to associate, organise, and exist in female-only spaces.
We didn’t ask for the world.
We asked for one unused railway arch, already sitting empty — a space Southwark could assign in under 30 minutes if they chose to act.
One unused arch, costing the council nothing, delivers legal compliance, public goodwill, and protection for thousands of women. What possible excuse remains?
This is a statutory duty. Ignoring it places Southwark Council in breach of the Equality Act 2010.
This isn’t a favour.
This is the law.
If Southwark refuses to comply, they are in breach, and we will pursue every available enforcement route, including:
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (already formally escalated — now under review)
High Court judicial enforcement, if necessary
National media exposure, which is already underway at a senior editorial level
And direct legal action under the Equality Act 2010 for failure to meet statutory duties
One arch. One lawful request. 14,000+ women are ready. 300+ professionals behind us.
Southwark isn’t blocking a bar. They’re blocking lawful, life-saving safeguarding infrastructure for one of the most targeted groups in the UK.
If they refuse to comply, they’re not just failing lesbians.
They’re violating their legal duty — and every woman watching knows it.
We’re not going away. And the country is watching.
PRESS/LEGAL CONTACT:
[email protected]
www.thelcommunity.com
SOURCES
Equality Act 2010 – Full Text:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers – Case Summary:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Women_Scotland_Ltd_v_The_Scottish_Ministers
UK Supreme Court Ruling Details:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-supreme-courts-ruling-on-trans-women-in-detail-87kjbxp3j
Equality and Human Rights Commission Guidance:
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance