The Guardian has reported that the guidance is being “adapted”. But what does this mean for trans people?
BY NIC CROSARA
Back in April, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of “woman” and “sex” refers to biological women and biological sex in the Equality Act 2010. Following this, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published interim guidance on single-sex spaces. Last summer, TransActual reported on how the ruling and guidance amplified transphobia in the UK. TransActual’s report found that both transgender and cisgender people were being threatened with violence for just being in public.
Yesterday (27 January), The Guardian reported that the EHRC guidance is being adapted under its “constructive” new chair. Lawyers from the EHRC are allegedly in discussions with government lawyers over the practicalities of guiding businesses and other institutions following the UK Supreme Court ruling. Last year, over 650 UK businesses and non-profits signed a letter to the ministers for Business and Equalities to express concern over the EHRC’s proposed guidance.
The EHRC’s original interim advice could effectively exclude trans people from public life. It stated that they should not be allowed to use the toilets meant for the gender they live as. Not only this, but that in some cases, they could not use the ones consistent with the sex they were assigned at birth. This guidance was overseen by Kishwer Falkner, the former EHRC chair. The new chair, Mary-Ann Stephenson, took over the role late last year. Stephenson is allegedly viewed as having a different approach to the guidance.
As reported in The Guardian: “Any changes will not water down what the government says is a commitment to single-sex spaces, which was the central repercussion of the supreme court ruling. However, the hope is that a more pragmatic approach could limit the impact on trans people, and avoid excessive costs and confusion for businesses in terms of changes to toilets and changing rooms.”
All eyes are on the verdict in a high court challenge to the EHRC’s response by the Good Law Project campaign and how this might change the legal picture.
The trans-led not-for-profit organisation Trans+ Solidarity Alliance (TSA) has consistently advocated for the trans+ community in the wake of the UK Supreme Court ruling. In May, TSA brought together a panel of trans+ legal experts for a parliamentary briefing to address how the ruling could be violating the UK’s rights obligations. In June, TSA organised a history-making mass lobby for trans rights. In September, the organisation also called for the Labour Party to do better for the LGBTQIA+ community.
On The Guardian’s report, TSA director Alex Parmar-Yee (she/her) has said: “Any new version of the EHRC’s code that does not provide clarity for service providers on how to include trans people will not fix this mess. Trans people are being thrown out of social groups, banned from bathrooms, and put at risk going about our daily lives.”
She added: “We are glad ministers are hearing the widespread backlash against this unworkable guidance, but exclusion must be the exception and not the rule. Anything else means businesses, charities and public services being forced to police everyone’s gender.”
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