“Trans people deserve to be able to take part in public life as themselves”
BY DIVA STAFF, IMAGE BY GETTY IMAGES/ CANVA
More than 2,100 parkrunners and others have told their MP to stand up for inclusive communities like Parkrun, which are being threatened by anti-trans legal threats.
Parkrun is just one of 10 sports bodies that have been sent letters threatening legal action by Sharron Davies’ Women’s Sports Union and ADF International following the UK Supreme Court ruling last year. This legal threat claims that sports bodies like Parkrun are not complying with the UK Supreme Court ruling by allowing trans people to take part as their authentic selves.
Trans+ Solidarity Alliance has recently brought together 140 women’s and LGBTQIA+ organisations, backed by Labour MP Nadia Whittome, to call for “equalities laws to provide better protections for inclusive spaces against expensive legal threats designed to force trans people out.”
Trans+ Solidarity Alliance director, Alex Parmar-Yee, said: “National institutions like Parkrun are being attacked by the religious right because Labour is hanging them out to dry. Organisations need confidence to defend their trans-inclusive positions, but, despite claims of clarity, the legal landscape after the Supreme Court judgment has become chaotic.”
“Trans people deserve to be able to take part in public life as themselves, and organisations like the ADF may be going after trans people in the UK now, but they will not stop here. We know their role in campaigning against abortion rights, gay marriage and other vital human rights.”
This legal threat has led to many parkrunners standing up for inclusive spaces. Kay Heenan, who has been a parkrunner and volunteer for eight years, said: “Parkrun is, and always has been, about community. It brings together a wonderful cross-section of people and creates a space where everyone is welcomed and celebrated for showing up on a Saturday morning. Excluding trans people goes against that spirit entirely. Efforts by the ADF to push for exclusion should be firmly resisted, and inclusive spaces like parkrun should be protected.”
More details are available at: protectparkrun.uk/
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