Sex Matters are asking you to email your MP this weekend

[PachacutisBadAuntie]

Re the delay in publishing the EHRC guidance. Can't see a thread on this yet, please do email if you can.

sex-matters.org/take-action/write-to-your-mp-the-government-must-stand-up-for-womens-rights/

Good grief the woman has nerves of steel. Being a sex realitist and attending that committee must be a very tough job.

It's pretty much only Rebecca Paul and Rosie Duffield who are any use at all on that committee, isn't it?

I got this from my Labour MP, who I don't think has been named on this thread. I haven't compared sentence by sentence but I think it's the same as the others quoted, i.e. comes from central comms team:

Thank you for contacting me about the Supreme Court ruling on the appeal brought by For Women Scotland.

In April, the Court ruled that sex in the Equality Act means biological sex, meaning a person will be considered as their biological sex for the purposes of the Act, whether they have a Gender Recognition Certificate or not.

Ministers have welcomed the judgment for bringing clarity for women and service providers. They have emphasised that single-sex spaces must be protected (as the Act states), and that clear guidance must be available across a range of settings, from healthcare and prisons to sport and single-sex support groups. It also highlighted that trans people retain clear protections in law and should be able to live their lives free of harassment and discrimination.

I appreciate this is an issue with strongly held views on both sides of what has become an extremely polarised debate. I fully support the Government and the Supreme Court in their declaration that this case is not about the triumph of one group at the expense of another, about winners or losers, or ‘us or them’. Now more than ever, it is essential that people in positions of authority, such as politicians, speak out about the importance of treating everybody with respect, even when our beliefs differ.

As you will know, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has submitted a revised code of practice to the Government, following public consultation. The code is to support service providers, public bodies and associations to understand their duties under the Equality Act and put them into practice, taking the judgment into account.

Ministers are now considering the EHRC’s updated draft, to ensure it provides the clarity service providers need in line with the ruling, and that people will have appropriate access to crucial services. Something the PM emphasised in Parliament this week.

More widely, I will continue to back the Government in its work to protect and support women. I support its mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and to ensure women’s equality and tackling discrimination is at the heart of its work.

Thank you once again for contacting me about this issue.

Who's your MP, @fanOfBen?

I'm going to reply to mine to 'thank' him for the comms team's words and say it's a shame he didn't send me his own thoughts!

Not saying that in public, sorry! I have forwarded it to [email protected] though, so they will have it as part of the picture.

Yes, several of those paragraphs are the same as my MP's response, mainly the ones at the beginning and end. In the middle he adapted it a little. So yes, unless we have the same MP, this is likely from central comms. My response did arrive on Monday 3 Nov, only two days after I sent my email, and I was pleased with that. Overall, I'm not annoyed or surprised. It's a rational way to deal with bulk correspondence.

I think that this email campaign by Sex Matters may have been over taken by events, as it looks like the Government have found another reason not to immediately implement https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5436144-ehrc-guidance-might-be-delayed-for-over-a-year?page=12&reply=148491579

I don't think we can really complain if MPs use model emails from the govt comms team when we have sent them model emails from a pressure group

I did add some personal detail but it was still a model email

and no response so far!

I wish I'd had that response from my Labour MP because it would at least suggest that she was toeng the party line. Instead I got some nonsense about some "sensitive" single sex spaces on a case by case basis and saying that the EHRC needs to be more "nuanced" (I.e. include men).

Haven’t read the whole thread, but if you want the letter signed by Labour MOs and nobody has pasted it, we analysed it and linked to it from here: https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/what-is-the-real-cost-to-business-of-ignoring-equality-law/

Me neither. I think it would be hard to identify me from the scant details in my posts but I don't like the thought of someone trying...

I’ve had a response from my Labour MP

“Thank you for your recent regarding the Supreme Court judgement on the meaning of sex in the Equality Act.

I am happy to raise this with the Government on your behalf and I have written to the Equalities Minister today.

The typical time for a Ministerial response is 20 working days, and if I do not receive a timely reply I will chase this up until you have an answer.

As soon as I receive a response I will write to you again. I appreciate you taking the time to bring this to my attention and thank you for engaging in the political process.”

It seems unusual compared with the c&p responses a lot of other Labour MPs have sent their constituents?

It’s from Kirith Entwistle (Bolton)

I added personal detail to mine too.

I want to know what he thinks, not what he's been told to say. I can't trust him to do the right thing if he can't at least add his own thoughts to it a bit (like I did).

I like this. This is more the type of thing I wanted!

Mine only seems to have a personal opinion on Freddos though. 🙄

Done.

Done.

That is a very interesting reply, batting it over to the Minister but also promising to follow up. A very new MP, and also a Member of the Women and Equalities Select Committee. Hmm.

Staggering inanity from someone so out of touch that they still think churning out the pro forma about the interim update (& getting the name wrong) & a rehearsal of their preference for illegality might constitute a reply to an email about the new guidance.

That sounds positive, and a stark contrast to his Red Wall neighbour in Lisa Nandy. Someone who read the writing on the wall, maybe?

I got a response to my 2nd email to my LD MP

Thank you for your thoughtful response. My sincerest apologies for addressing you by the first initial of your name in the previous email (my mistake!).

I want to reassure you that, as a Liberal Democrat, I am committed to protecting the rights of women and girls, including their right to safety. In our 2024 manifesto, we outlined what needs to be done to achieve this.

This includes, ensuring that survivors of violence against women and girls and domestic abuse get the support they deserve by:

• Fully implementing the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, with protections for all survivors regardless of nationality or immigration status.
• Expanding the number of refuges and rape crisis centres to meet demand.
• Ensuring sustainable funding for services to support survivors of domestic abuse, with a particular focus on community-based and specialist ‘by and for’ services.
• Ensuring that survivors are properly supported within the criminal justice system.
• Require social media companies to publish reports setting out the action they have taken to address online abuse against women and girls, and other groups who share a protected characteristic.

As well as, tackling the specific economic barriers facing women by:

• Ending the gender price gap so that women are not charged more than men for practically identical products or services marketed at them.
• Ending period poverty by introducing a right for anyone who needs them to access free period products.
• Expanding access to flexible, affordable childcare, doubling Statutory Maternity Pay and expanding shared parental leave.

As I said previously, I recognise your frustration at the lack of clarity that has, for too long, left service providers uncertain about what is lawful, and women and girls feeling that their dignity, privacy or safety may not always be properly protected.

However, we need to wait and see the final version of the EHRC Code of Practice before reaching conclusions. We will scrutinise the guidance properly when it is published. I included the link to the debate in September in my previous email to inform you that Lisa Smart MP, the Liberal Democrat Women and Equalities Spokesperson, called for proper parliamentary scrutiny of the final guidance once published. This should ensure that any concerns constituents may have should be duly considered.

Liberal Democrats are clear: existing rights must be protected, including those of trans people and women. Thank you again for contacting me, I hope this clarifies my position.

Nope.

Over two weeks on, there's zilch in my inbox from my MP. I suppose that's my answer.

Same.

Same

It's almost like some of them don't care, isn't it? 🤔