The former Prime Minister has called for a ban on trans pupils being able to socially transition
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Liz Truss, who was famously only Prime Minister for 44 days, has joined the ongoing conversation in politics about whether students should be able to transition in schools without parental consent.
After rumours that Rishi Sunak’s government are planning to drop their plans to implement guidance which would ban trans students from socially transitioning in school, Liz Truss spoke to The Times about her opinion on the matter.
“There needs to be clarity about biological sex in school, particularly for toilets and changing areas, which should be single-sex spaces,” Truss said.
She went on to say that social transitioning is “not a neutral act” and “therefore it should not be officially sanctioned before a young adult has the full decision-making capability to understand the consequences at the age of 18.”
Labour MPs such as Kate Osborne have called out Rishi’s initial plans to out trans students to their parents, saying that it would directly breach the Equality Act. Truss, however, doesn’t see this as the case.
“I do not believe that this [Rishi’s initial guidance] contravenes the Equality Act but if there are any legal issues, the government should legislate.”
Earlier this month, it was reported that Victoria Prentis, attorney-general for England and Wales, examined the draft for Sunak’s new guidance on trans students, and determined that a ban on trans students transitioning in schools would be illegal under the 2010 Equalities Act.
Other MPs have also voiced their concerns about the potential new guidance with Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, saying: “For many young trans people, their ability to socially transition is essential to their mental health and wellbeing,” she said. “Any attempt by government to prevent them from cutting their hair or using a different name and pronouns is authoritarian and discriminatory in the extreme.”
Lukasz Konieczka, the executive director of the Mosaic LGBTQ+ Young Persons Trust, told PinkNews: “Such badly-thought-out guidelines will confuse schools and put young people at risk.”
With teachers across the country telling the government the importance of trans students being able to socially transition without parental consent, there is still no concrete answer from the government regarding this matter.
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