EHRC Code of Practice on Services, Public Functions and Associations has been laid - here is the Code itself

[SingleSexSpacesInSchools]

Written Statement made by: Secretary of State for Education and Minister for
Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson) on 21 May 2026:

https://commonsbusiness.parliament.uk/Document/105423/Pdf?subType=Standard

I have approved the draft Code submitted on 4 September 2025 and as updated by the EHRC in April 2026 following engagement with government and their consideration of consultation responses and further legal analysis.
The current Code was produced in 2011 and there have been significant developments since then, including the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland, resulting in the EHRC wanting to update the Code.
Following last year’s Supreme Court ruling, the draft Code’s content on sex and gender reassignment has changed substantially from the 2011 version. The ruling made it clear that sex means biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 and that trans people are still protected by the Act under the protected characteristic of ‘gender reassignment’.

The Code of Practice on Services, Public Functions and Associations itself:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equality-act-2010-draft-code-of-practice-for-services-public-functions-and-associations-2026

Yep. And as pp said, hardly any examples of sex based rights around “trans” when it was the reason the guidelines were amended.

And any man entering a women's single sex space is abusing them.

It's not that clear cut though. If the women who are in there before the man goes in are all happy to have him there, and some women are, then at that moment he isn't harassing anyone.

The furthest that argument could go is that his presence is potentially harassing other women who might want to be in there, but that's never going to stick as a charge.

It’s different in toilets. If you look at the Sexual Offences Act (2003) there’s a possibility he may get a criminal record. Toilets are such vulnerable places there’s a separate section on them and then there’s the first part of the voyeurism section.

I think now the EHRC has said the washroom section is private to women, there needs to be more clarity on what constitutes ‘sexual gratification’. Certainly some of the photos of men in women’s toilets on the internet look like they are sexual. If there’s a woman that feels distress and doesn’t want him there, surely this applies:

67
Voyeurism
[F1 (1)
A person commits an offence if
for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, he observes another person doing a private act, and
(b) he knows that the other person does not consent to being observed for his sexual gratification.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/section/67

Any lawyers on here?

I agree that I don't think I would like to make a case of "abuse" stick in court, however, I think we may need to look at it a slightly different way.

I think we need to remember that it is the space which is by law single-sex, and that there are valid reasons for that ( or it wouldn't be a single-sex space in the first place). If, as I think is correct ( and others have pointed out on here), it is the provider who is liable in these scenarios, then allowing a man, of any persuasion, into such a space could constitute harassment of women, present or future, in and of itself. Because women by law are allowed to expect that the space will always be free from men.

I don't think it matters in law if some women already in the space don't care that a man is there/has just walked in; the man being there has now prevented other women (some of whom, for religious reasons cannot used mixed-sex spaces) from using that single -sex space.

I'm fairly sure that the women who do/did not consent would then be able to take legal action against the provider for harassment.

Also, according to a "Disabled Trans member of DR UK staff":
"Trans people are developing debilitating conditions and bladder problems from being unable to use public bathrooms for fear of harassment."

Is that more than they are developing by taking hormones which lead to genital atrophy and incontinence? Or having surgeries which mess up their elimination functions?

edit

sorry, should have read: I agree that I don't think I would like to try to make a case of "abuse" stick in court,

I agree. I guess I'm derailing because this kind of argument pisses me off so much! It's like taking all the mental health problems associated with "trans" and blaming them on "minority stress" - we wouldn't have mental health problems if only everyone else thought we were the sex we say we are or at least pretended that we were. And our bladders and genitals wouldn't be fucked up if only we could all have the bogs we want and never mind what we did to ourselves.

Just no.

Anyway, side issue. As you were!

The asymmetry when considering the negative impacts is stark.

I believe Ben Cooper has pointed out the discrimination that lies in male people’s mental health being considered when they assess whether that male prisoner get put into a female prison whereas they don’t give as much consideration to female mental health.

Extraordinary cartoon in The Guardian

I just don't have words. How can these two world views ever come to an accommodation?

If the Guardian is denying reality so clearly, what hope is there of calming this situation

Parliament Square protest looks huge https://londonwebcam.co.uk/webcam/parliament-square/

no wait they're waiting for the lights to change

The more the world turns against this ideology, the more people will fall out of it but the harder and more determined the remaining parts of the movement will be

https://www.crimeandjustice.org.uk/legal-opinion-prison-policy-relation-trans-identifying-male-prisoners-light-supreme-court’s

Legal Opinion On Prison Policy In Relation To Trans-Identifying Male Prisoners In Light Of The Supreme Court’s Judgment In For Women Scotland

Dated 22nd May, post code update

That Guardian cartoon is offensive.

If they had used an illustration of a person with obvious disabllities it would sadly have been oh so true. How many people with disabilities can't live a full life because they find it's even difficult to get out of the house?

Not under this guidance or the Equality Act which places duties on service providers, employers, public bodies etc, not on individuals. So you can bring a complaint against the service body that they are failing in their responsibilities under the EA (it would have to be under the indirect discrimination provision I think) or make a complaint of harassment to the police.

Re the optics - it is an odd take, especially the pose shown (which is raising all kinds of speculation on X) and the why-on-earth staining of the flag.

Some Ts are not happy with it over on Bluesky. Apparently The Guardian is transphobic.

There’s some incredibly sad stories about disabled people who can’t get out of the house due to a lack of toilets. Toilet provision can be dire. Here’s one about elderly people in Bath:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg92nl5w25o

Since the code was issued, I am noticing more and more discussion about transmen. That if they now have to use female toilets, this means any man can claim to be a transman. Because many transmen pass incredibly well. I heard one such transman discuss this yesterday. Whenever I’ve known a person is a transman, without seeing hands and feet, or hearing voice, I have found myself convinced, especially at first or quick sight, which is comparable to a toilet. Not sure how to process this to be honest.

I remember when Bath used to be famous for 'Bog Island'! Long since gone, of course.

The manipulative optics of this could be very dangerous for teenagers especially, those who already have enough trouble getting out of bed in the morning and out of the house. I would even say akin to "glorifying" depression and all the issues that arise from that and too much social media.

Shame on the Guardian.

I would imagine the pose is deliberate, so the viewer cannot be sure if this is a male or a female. Covers the cartoonist's back, so to speak (pardon the pun).

That if they now have to use female toilets, this means any man can claim to be a transman. Because many transmen pass incredibly well.

I can't work out what you are saying here. Adult men look like men, including men identifying as trans. If a woman identifying as trans had taken testosterone it's possible that she would look masculine and in which case would be able to pass in the men's toilets.

Apparently The Guardian is transphobic.

The Guardian is one of the worst for the TWAW mantra!