RSPB women only walks including men

[SirChenjins]

I emailed them to complain that their women only walks were nothing of the sort (I used my bigger words of course), and got the following standard guff back. Any ideas re how I should respond?

We are aware of the Supreme Court ruling and like many organisations, we are awaiting the updated Code of Practice and formal guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Once published, we will take time to review the Code and formal guidance carefully, ensuring we fully understand its implications for our charitable activities.

Our goal is always to ensure that everyone feels welcome, included and safe when engaging with nature and our work.

Yes, I thought the same.

I thought this, too. It not only defeats the whole object, but also contributes to undermining some women's sense of security more widely.

Quite. How many women now see something labelled 'for women' and immediately back away as it will inevitably be front and centre penises. And the women who back away and wouldn't use that resource with penises, are inevitably the core group who need women-only provision.

I really resent it.

And the whole "no one complains" paradox is infuriatingly stupid and cruel. How many would, given the opprobrium women face for speaking up?

I'm confident speaking up for myself, yet even then got a bit breathless and sweaty-palmed when I first "outed myself" as GC. Even now, asking about the sauna took courage and came with an uncomfortable sense of risk.

What a choice - join a "women-only" sauna knowing that a male could enter without being challenged; or double-check it's single-sex knowing that you could be targetted for doing so. Or join in ignorance, choosing it because you're unaware that "women-only" now means "males who think a particular way" and you didn't read the small-print (RSPB) or know to double-check.

It's so very unfair, and the very opposite of meaningful "inclusion".

Indeed. TRA create a situation where women complaining are called bigots, hounded, abused, threatened and doxxed

abd then when women very understandably don't want to put themselves through that, we're told "well no one complained". No of course not! Because you made it impossible to do so

If this walk is one for which you pay money, is it not subject to something like a false claims action if it says it is for women and is actually for both women and men? or maybe the Trades Descriptions Act? or something?

Obviously the person to bring a claim against them needs to be a man who is outraged that his wife has been the object of fraudulent advertising....

I looked at several of the RSPB "Women Only" walks and found one which clearly showed the RSPB do understand why some women need to feel safe. This specific walk didn't invite adults who identify as women or none-binary people who feel safe in a woman's only environment.

It stated:

"Why Women-Only?
Many women in the UK have sadly experienced harassment at some point in their lives. We know that going out alone into the countryside is something that many women don’t feel safe to do. As a way of supporting women to both feel and be as safe as possible on our nature reserves, we are putting on some events that are exclusively for them. These events won’t be to everyone’s taste, but hope it will allow those, who might not otherwise feel safe, to experience nature in a friendly and safe space, removing some barriers in the process."

So this means the RSPB absolutely know they're deliberately compromising vulnerable women by inviting men to all their other "Women Only" walks.

That's made me feel really sad 😔

The cognitive dissonance of an organization thinking that women who might not feel safe in the presence of men would nevertheless be ok in the presence of men in frocks is quite disorientating.

Me and the RSPB have been corresponding about this, i got a polite 'fuck you' this morning. The previous emails are below that

Dear WTFRSPB,

Thank you for your further email. Our events are all carefully designed and delivered in line with the RSPB’s legal obligations and our safeguarding policies, the decision to host these events are not made by a singular individual and are instead part of our ongoing commitment of becoming a more diverse and welcoming organisation, We are committed to ensuring that the RSPB provides experiences and opportunities that bring nature into the lives of all people, including children, vulnerable and protected adults. As an organisation which works with these groups, the RSPB has an appropriate Safeguarding Policy in place to ensure their safety and welfare whilst undertaking activities run by the RSPB.

This means we will do all that we can to ensure that their experience of our organisation is one that is free from any form of abuse or exploitation. We believe that their experience of the RSPB should always be marked by feeling respected and safeguarded

We expect those attending events to respect the guidance and others on our reserve and would like to reassure you that should there be an attempt by any individual, with the intention of putting visitors or our workforce’s safety or enjoyment at risk, we would take that issue very seriously. To our knowledge, we have not received any reports of people with malintent misusing women-only events, and these events have proven to be very popular with those attending. The RSPB takes its responsibilities regarding safeguarding very seriously and our full commitment on safeguarding is publicly available on our website. – thorough and appropriate Risk Assessments are completed for all events run by the RSPB to ensure people’s safety and welfare whilst undertaking activities run by the RSPB.

To explore events on offer and the eligibility for attending, please see the website here: https://events.rspb.org.uk/ and as previously mentioned, we would ask that anyone who does not meet the relevant criteria of an event to respects this – and invite them to explore our wide range of other events on offer, or to enjoy time at our reserves which are open to all.

Whilst we respect your right to disagree with our position and approach, we will log your comments to help feed into future decisions regarding our inclusive events, however as we have clearly laid out our position and approach on this topic, we will no longer be able to provide further response and consider this matter closed.

Kind Regards
Richard Bailey
Supporter Relations & Experience Manager- (Hours of employment: Mon-Fri 09:15-15:00)
Supporter Services: 01767 693680 (Mon-Fri, 09:00-17:00)
Wildlife Advice & Enquiries: 01767 693690 (Mon-Fri, 09:30-16:30)
UK Headquarters The Lodge Sandy Bedfordshire SG19 2DL
rspb.org.uk

Protecting habitats, saving species and helping to end the nature and climate emergency.
Nature is in crisis. Together we can save it.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654.

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Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, my friend and I won't be able to make the event after all. The surgery (a sex specific issue that I can't identify out of) I referred to in a previous email has been brought forward. As lovely as your intentions sound they take no account of anyone who may self-exclude because they do not wish to be gaslit by the RSPB or who have seen what happens to women who speak up. Something alluded to in your reply. It's a pity, genuinely women only events could be valuable for any women or girls who has suffered trauma. I do not believe it would be beyond the wit of the organisation to have 'inclusive' events that comply with the Equality Act, don't run the risk of insulting female members or illegally discriminating against the male ones.
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On Tue, 10 Feb 2026, 08:56 Membership, <[email protected]> wrote:
Dear WTFRSPB,

Thank you for your further email. Our events are all carefully designed and delivered in line with the RSPB’s legal obligations and our safeguarding policies, the decision to host these events are not made by a singular individual and are instead part of our ongoing commitment of becoming a more diverse and welcoming organisation, We are committed to ensuring that the RSPB provides experiences and opportunities that bring nature into the lives of all people, including children, vulnerable and protected adults. As an organisation which works with these groups, the RSPB has an appropriate Safeguarding Policy in place to ensure their safety and welfare whilst undertaking activities run by the RSPB.

This means we will do all that we can to ensure that their experience of our organisation is one that is free from any form of abuse or exploitation. We believe that their experience of the RSPB should always be marked by feeling respected and safeguarded

We expect those attending events to respect the guidance and others on our reserve and would like to reassure you that should there be an attempt by any individual, with the intention of putting visitors or our workforce’s safety or enjoyment at risk, we would take that issue very seriously. To our knowledge, we have not received any reports of people with malintent misusing women-only events, and these events have proven to be very popular with those attending. The RSPB takes its responsibilities regarding safeguarding very seriously and our full commitment on safeguarding is publicly available on our website. – thorough and appropriate Risk Assessments are completed for all events run by the RSPB to ensure people’s safety and welfare whilst undertaking activities run by the RSPB.

To explore events on offer and the eligibility for attending, please see the website here: https://events.rspb.org.uk/ and as previously mentioned, we would ask that anyone who does not meet the relevant criteria of an event to respects this – and invite them to explore our wide range of other events on offer, or to enjoy time at our reserves which are open to all.

Whilst we respect your right to disagree with our position and approach, we will log your comments to help feed into future decisions regarding our inclusive events, however as we have clearly laid out our position and approach on this topic, we will no longer be able to provide further response and consider this matter closed.

Kind Regards
Richard Bailey
Supporter Relations & Experience Manager- (Hours of employment: Mon-Fri 09:15-15:00)
Supporter Services: 01767 693680 (Mon-Fri, 09:00-17:00)
Wildlife Advice & Enquiries: 01767 693690 (Mon-Fri, 09:30-16:30)
UK Headquarters The Lodge Sandy Bedfordshire SG19 2DL
rspb.org.uk
Protecting habitats, saving species and helping to end the nature and climate emergency.
Nature is in crisis. Together we can save it.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654.

From: WTFRSPB
Sent: 06 February 2026 11:12
To: Membership <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Women only?

Thank you for finally getting back to me. I told my friend, he was amused, delighted although, like myself, aghast. He asked if he needed to do anything to 'identify' as a 'woman', like shave his beard off. I told him he didn't have to do anything. All the work, pretending that this obvious man was a 'woman', would be expected to be performed by the other 'women'. They'll be expected to pay for the privilege of behaving as those he (any any other man there) wasn't actually male. We must ignore our eyes, ears and any trauma or risk being labelled non-inclusive and disrespectful.

I have to admit we are concerned that there may be attendees there who may not be with the program and we be subject to disrespect by some who might not realise quite how inclusive they're supposed to be. Please could I have the name of the (presumably) senior bod at RSPB HQ who has authorised this. This is so we know who to quote in case we need to. Ta.

As you can see tempus is fugiting, so a speedy response would be appreciated 👍

On Fri, 6 Feb 2026, 09:58 Membership, <[email protected]> wrote:
Good morning

Please accept our apologies in the delay in responding to your further email. With the Big Garden Birdwatch being one of our busiest times of the year, our team has been experiencing a high volume of enquiries and are replying to these as quickly as possible and we required to seek confirmation to best answer your enquiry.

We currently operate an inclusive approach for events such as women’s walks. Events organised by the RSPB and advertised as for women or ‘women-only’ are open to anybody who identifies as a woman. We also welcome non-binary people who feel comfortable in a women-only space. If your friend feels that this definition is applicable to them, then they would be welcome at the event.

For all RSPB events we provide information, such as who can attend, under the About and FAQ section on the event page on our website. We expect all who attend our events to follow the guidance on the event page and to allow the event to be the welcoming and respectful space it is intended to be, for the specific groups or individuals it is designed for.

We would ask that anyone who does not meet the relevant criteria of an event respects this – and we would invite them to explore our wide range of other events on offer, or to enjoy time at our reserves which are open to all.

Whilst we ask that those attending our events respect their specific purpose and intended audience, as these are held in publicly accessible locations, we are unable to guarantee that those in attendance will meet the stated criteria.

We will always do all that we can to ensure that those visiting our events have a positive experience. Our events are carefully designed and delivered in line with the RSPB’s legal obligations and our safeguarding policies. Risk assessments are completed for all events run by the RSPB to ensure people’s safety and welfare whilst undertaking activities run by the RSPB.

Anyone who visits RSPB nature reserves or attends our events is asked to do so with respect and consideration for others, and anyone who is deemed to be intentionally causing a nuisance or disturbing other visitors would be asked to leave the site. We believe that our visitors’ experience of the RSPB should always be marked by feeling welcome, included and safe.

Thank you for getting in touch.

Kind Regards
Maria Webb
Supporter Adviser
Supporter Services: 01767 693680 (Mon-Fri, 09:00-17:00)
Wildlife Advice & Enquiries: 01767 693690 (Mon-Fri, 09:30-16:30)
UK Headquarters The Lodge Sandy Bedfordshire SG19 2DL
rspb.org.uk

Protecting habitats, saving species and helping to end the nature and climate emergency.
Nature is in crisis. Together we can save it.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654.

From: WTFRSPB
Sent: 04 February 2026 11:52
To: Membership <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Women only?

I'm still waiting for a reply to what I thought was a simple question. I think my earlier emails are attached below.* I was hoping to go on the walk before then with my male friend so I am keen to receive an answer.

If who ever receives this email cannot or will not answer my question, then I insist to be given the details of who I can complain to. It is not acceptable that, other than an automated response, I am ignored. I do not feel either respected or included.

*a bit of personal information redacted by me

On Tue, 27 Jan 2026, 11:18 WTFRSPB wrote:
I sent an email over a week ago now requesting conformation that a man can attend one of your 'women' only walks. It's a simple yes or no question so I'm disappointed to have to be chasing it up. My friend is even prepared to identify as a woman for the duration of the event. A previous reply from the RSPB seemed to imply that he could, although (apologies if this seems a little rude) it was such a word salad I wasn't certain, hence my request for clarification.

Please could you reply asap.

TIA 😊

I did send a reply although I'm not expecting a response.

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, my friend and I won't be able to make the event after all.* As lovely as your intentions sound they take no account of anyone who may self-exclude because they do not wish to be gaslit by the RSPB or who have seen what happens to women who speak up. Something alluded to in your reply. It's a pity, genuinely women only events could be valuable for any women or girls who has suffered trauma. I do not believe it would be beyond the wit of the organisation to have 'inclusive' events that comply with the Equality Act, don't run the risk of insulting female members or illegally discriminating against the male ones.

*personal information redacted by me

Fwiw I tried to complain to the Trading Standards for Central Beds. who are the Local Authority partner for the RSPB. It seems though that contact for them is routed through the CAB. So I reported it to them and I'm waiting to hear back.

I will happily write to the Charity Commission on this WTFRSPB and anybody else you recommend.

I already wrote to the RSPB and cancelled my membership, it turned out that they'd rather lose me after 25 years membership (inc 15 years volunteering) than acknowledge what a woman really is!

I already wrote to the RSPB and cancelled my membership, it turned out that they'd rather lose me after 25 years membership (inc 15 years volunteering) than acknowledge what a woman really is!

FFS @PassTheHanky , their arseholery is beyond astounding

Absolutely shocking. They are fools!

wow, what a load of word salady bollocks from the RSPB.
Imbeciles.

Excellent emails, @WTFRSPB .
The RSPB has lots its way.

Edited to add, Chris Packham is a vice-president of the RSPB. I heard him on a podcast a while ago being pressed about trans issues and he kept wanging on about how important it is to be kind and tolerant etc etc - this from a man who is incredibly rude and unpleasant about a whole tranche of the rural community.