Trans people could be barred from single-sex spaces based on appearance, leaked EHRC draft suggests
"It instructs service providers to police this based on appearance and gender stereotypes," says trans activist Jude Guaitamacchi
By Aaron Sugg
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has drafted new guidance on transgender people’s access to single-sex spaces, allowing access based on appearance and behaviour.
In April, the UK Supreme Court defined the term “woman” as a person’s biological sex, ruling that trans women are not legally women under the Equalities Act.
The EHRC issued guidance on single-sex spaces, which has now been updated after being critiqued by activists and government officials as too complex.
Transgender people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on what they look like
According to The Times, which has obtained leaked copies of the document, the EHRC’s guidance suggests transgender people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on what they look like.
The worrying guidance was sent to ministers in September, who say the delay in publication is to ensure the guidance is carefully considered and avoids practical problems.
The draft has been called a “misogynist’s charter” by activists, one of which is transgender activist group Trans+ Solidarity Alliance.
“This is a misogynist’s charter, plain and simple” – trans activist Jude Guaitamacchi on the leaked EHRC single-sex guidance
Speaking to The Independent, founder Jude Guaitamacchi said: “These leaks reveal that not only does the EHRC’s proposed code of practice seek to require trans exclusion, it instructs service providers to police this based on appearance and gender stereotypes. This is a misogynist’s charter, plain and simple, and the government must reject it.”
The announcement unfortunately coincides with Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to honour and remember trans people who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender violence.
Children’s minister Josh MacAlister highlighted the implications the new guidance could have, not just on the trans community, but those policing it.
“It has big implications for individuals” – Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister on the new single-sex space guidance
Speaking to Times Radio, he said: “These are massive issues and I think that the public now looking at the draft guidance from the EHRC will recognise that when you drill down into examples of how this might be applied, it has big implications for individuals, it has big implications for businesses and public services.”
Businesses across the UK have already begun applying the April guidance. For example, Barclays has confirmed it will bar trans women from using female bathrooms in its buildings.
MacAlister added that the guidance “has implications for both how physical buildings are set up, but also how staff in those settings would need to determine and judge even whether somebody might look like a woman.”
The updated EHRC draft guidance is being delayed for public release due to careful consideration, and the date of release is not yet known.