EHRC code on single sex spaces comes into force on 5th August 2026

[SingleSexSpacesInSchools]

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/788/pdfs/uksi_20260788_en.pdf

does excluding transgender women from public toilets stop predatory men? I haven't seen evidence that it does.

Okay. How many women need to be assaulted by transwomen before you accept that transwomen specifically present a risk?

It can't be zero, because there have already been such victims.

Every single trans identified man who goes into women's spaces has already ignored the rules. He has put his wants over women's needs. 99% of sex offenders are male. 88% of those offended against are female. Many women have experienced sexual assault and violence at the hands of a man. And those women need spaces away from men to go to the toilet, get changed and use services such as health care. Your lack of understanding about why women need single sex spaces is shocking.

FFS why are TRAs so obsessed with toilets?

It's the thing that seems to enrage them the most, that poor transwomen might not get to pee in their preferred piece of ceramic, the one usually reserved for female people.

This is not about toilets.

It's about the legal, social and cultural existence of female people as having meaningfully different risks, needs, challenges and lived experiences to male.

Which you would realise if you stopped just thinking about what trans people want and thought about female people as people who exist and matter in our own right and not just as some sort of take-it-as-read NPC scenery for trans identities to be performed against.

It's a very male response trying to narrow the discussion to potential violence in single sex spaces, and ignoring the privacy and dignity issues.

As we know Seeth it's always N+1

however many women have been harmed, it's never enough

@Mum2boys01 just bring your boys up to stay out of women's spaces, thanks. I guess they are why you are arguing (badly). Transwomen are men and always have been, always will be, and I do not want to share an intimate space with any male over the age of 8.

#NO.

Indeed 😡

Also, I notice that @Mum2boys01 ignored my suggestion that transwomen simply continue using the male facilities they've always used and where they are perfectly safe.

No, that's not good enough, is it? Transwomen have to use female spaces - for reasons better left unexplained...

Men violating women’s boundaries should feel awkward, shouldn’t they?

Thanks for responding!

No, I can't look inside someone's head and tell you whether they're genuinely transgender or lying. Neither can you.

Oh, that's unfortunate. So when you said "Being transgender isn't about believing women wear dresses or act a certain way; it's about a person's gender identity" did you mean that we just need to guess, or take it on faith, that the man coming into a female single-sex space is not a man, but is actually a woman? Even though they might look exacty like a real man? How do we know?

But here's the question people in this group seem to be ignoring do you honestly believe a man intent on assaulting a woman is going to stop because a sign on a toilet door says "Women"?

Well, that's tricky, isn't it, because you just said we can't tell if a man is trans-identified or not. So how can we say if THIS man (might look just that THAT man) is actually not going to assault women, if we can't tell he's actually a woman. That's why I thought it would be useful to tell the difference between the two men. Any ideas?

It is a good question. In fact if you are saying people should believe that transwomen are women , it is the question that needs to be answered.
You assert very confidently that transwomen are women. So what is the basis for your assertion? Why should we believe you?

This is why the Good Law Project lost their challenge to the interim guidance, because they made arguments of this calibre with a straight face in court and beclowned themselves. I’m sure the pp thinks the arguments are very clever. So did GLP.

The idea that trans women are automatically "perfectly safe" in men's facilities is an assumption, not a fact. Many trans people report harassment, intimidation, and violence when they are forced into spaces that don't align with their gender.
But the bigger point is that this isn't about trans women "having to" use women's spaces for some hidden reason. It's about where people are able to live their everyday lives with dignity and safety. Most trans women are not trying to make a statement or invade anyone's space — they are trying to use a toilet, change clothes, or access services like everyone else.
It's also worth asking why the discomfort of one group is treated as automatically more important than the safety and dignity of another. The aim should be creating spaces where everyone is treated respectfully, not assuming one group is a threat simply because they are transgender. Anyway, this is how I feel, clearly that is not shared and thats ok. I hope everyone has a good evening.

It’s not only not shared on Mumsnet, but with the public as a whole. See all polls on this subject from 2018 on.

If you genuinely want to understand why trans women describe themselves as women, the best people to ask are trans women themselves. I’m not one, so I wouldn’t pretend to speak for their personal experience.
But this is also why listening matters. Many people form opinions about transgender people without ever having spoken to one or considered what their day-to-day experience is actually like.
The basis for recognising trans women as women comes from a combination of how gender identity is understood in psychology and medicine, the lived experiences of transgender people, and the way many societies have chosen to recognise and include them. People can debate how that should apply in specific situations, but dismissing someone’s identity as simply pretending avoids engaging with the reality of their lives.
Sometimes the most useful question is not just "what proof do you have?" but also "have I listened to the people whose lives I’m making claims about?"

Why do you think these men’s feelings should be prioritised over those of the majority of women?

I’m not really all that interested why men feel the need to appropriate my sex, I just don’t accept it.

It's also worth asking why the discomfort of one group is treated as automatically more important than the safety and dignity of another.

Another very good question. Why is it that the discomfort of trans-identified men is treated as automatically more important than the safety and dignity of women?

Would you care to answer that question, please? Thanks.

@Mum2boys01

You said: But here's the question people in this group seem to be ignoring do you honestly believe a man intent on assaulting a woman is going to stop because a sign on a toilet door says "Women"?

Well, that's tricky, isn't it, because you just said we can't tell if a man is trans-identified or not.

My question: So how can we say if THIS man (might look just that THAT man) is actually not going to assault women, if we can't tell he's actually a woman. That's why I thought it would be useful to tell the difference between the two men. Any ideas?

Could you also answer this question please, thanks.

@Mum2boys01

It's about where people are able to live their everyday lives with dignity and safety.

Indeed, and "people" includes women, not just trans people.

Most trans women are not trying to make a statement or invade anyone's space

They do, though. They are not female; they do not belong in female single-sex spaces. Every time they enter one, they invade it.

It's also worth asking why the discomfort of one group is treated as automatically more important than the safety and dignity of another.

Female single-sex spaces are literally made for women. Women are literally the only ones supposed to use them. Saying, 'but what about some men?" is entirely against the very spirit of single-sex spaces.

The aim should be creating spaces where everyone is treated respectfully,

Go ask transwomen if they want third spaces where they'll be safe yet away from women. Be ready for a shock.

This argument, that a man who wants to assault a women won't be stopped by a sign - profoundly misunderstands how crime happens.

Men don't wake up in the morning and decide "today's the day I'm going to find a woman to assault."

Crime happens when people are enabled - when they feel comfortable doing it - and when they think they might get away with it. If you make men feel comfortable in a women's facility, by believing, acting, and encouraging them to be there, saying they belong, then it can tip anyone on the verge of committing a crime into doing so. And it can make the crime that they commit, worse. Instead of staying outside, they go inside. Instead of just staring, they touch. Instead of touching they, use force, and so on.

Well-lit carparks: Nobody who has decided to break into a car is going to be put off by good lighting: it just helps them pick the car more easily!

Cash-boxes with locks: Nobody who has decided to steal money is going to be put off by a cheap lock on a cash box - they'll just steal the box!

Assaults on staff: Nobody who wants to assault a staff member is going to be put off by a little sign!

There are a million ways to reduce - not prevent entirely - but reduce crime. And one way is to make the environment uncomfortable for potential criminals. The more uncomfortable they feel - the less welcome - the more likely they are to turn around and go home.

If you want to encourange assaults on women by men in women's facilities - just make men feel comfortable there.

@Mum2boys01
So the answer is to treat all transwomen as dangerous predatory men?

This is worthy of a response too.

No - the answer is to treat all men as men. The dangerous predatory ones, and the safe ones, the "transwomen" who are safe men, and the "transwomen" who are dangerous and predatory. All men, all treated alike.

Because women are 51% of the population and transwomen about 0.5%.

One trans woman (male person)using single sex spaces set aside for females has an effect on all the women on that space.

It is about giving half of the human race dignity and respect due to their sexed differences and additional vulnerability.

Trans women should never have been in female only spaces. They are NOT female.

They should have campaigned for third spaces rather than expecting all women would be comfortable to budge up and make our spaces less safe and comfortable for us.

Which is what happens if you decide to let in any man on his say so.

Mammals cannot change sex.
Human beings are mammals.

Therefore, every biological male human will remain male their whole life. It doesn't matter what body modification they undergo, what they identify as, what they truly believe or how unhappy they are being male. They're still male.

The same goes for female people, they also stay female their whole life.

Decent people obey the law. The EA2010 has been clarified - it is the law and always was. The guidance comes into force on 5th August 2026. I have some sympathy as the law was misrepresented by groups such as Stonewall, but this misrepresentation is now well known. Any decent person - no matter what their identity - will use the single-sex facilities for their actual sex (not the sex they wish they were) or unisex facilities if they prefer.

Well, that was interesting! I finally got an answer to one of my questions!

So, you've heard it from someone who clearly knows all about it:

1- Being transgender isn't about believing women wear dresses or act a certain way; it's about a person's gender identity

and

2- No, I can't look inside someone's head and tell you whether they're genuinely transgender or lying. Neither can you.

And, yet, without a shadow of a doubt:

3- Transgender women are women. They are not pretending, and they are not entering women's spaces to cause harm.

Thanks @Mum2boys01 It's very clear now. If you could answer my other questions, that would be great, but I appreciate your time.

Oh I see the 'if men want to commit an offence against women they'll do it anyway' trope has arrived. What rubbish. Mum2boys' postulating has all been heard many times before. Ad nauseum

I do not care whether a man is in a dress, whether he's lovely, caring and very sweet, I do not want MEN in my spaces- any Womens' spaces, not just loos!!!
TW may have been using our spaces but they DO get noticed. Maybe no woman has wanted to challenge and risk a a 'punch' in the 'f ing face' a la SJ Baker?? Added to this, maybe people are thinking of the 'old school transexuals' who maybe did live their lives quietly? The new 'transgender' people are much louder, more aggressive and have been violent.
Posters who jump on here to pontificate and attempt to censure us for "transphobia" need to read a bit more. Can I suggest " break it down for me" on the FWR board? There are some excellent, well-informed women on FWR. Not forgetting @Keeptoiletssafe if anyone wants to know more about loos.
Go on, have a read.

TW are not women! They never have been and never will be.
Why is this so bloody hard to understand?