Trans advocates, women’s organisations and MPs have spoken up against the EHRC’s updated Code of Practice
BY NIC CROSARA, IMAGE BY BASEIMAGE VIA CANVA
In 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled that, for the purposes of the Equality Act, the legal definition of the term “woman” was based on biological sex. Following this, the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) released its since-deleted interim guidance, which was legally challenged by The Good Law Project and a number of trans and intersex individuals. On 21 May, Bridget Phillipson, Minister for Women and Equalities, presented the EHRC’s updated guidance to Parliament.
The Code will request businesses and public bodies to enforce bathroom and changing room rules on the basis of biological sex. According to this new Code, trans people must be offered a third or gender-neutral space. Trans men will be excluded from the men-only services “because his sex is female”, and a trans woman would be excluded from women-only services “because her sex is male”. Furthermore, people can be asked to disclose their sex if “there is clear evidence of an issue with members of the opposite sex accessing or seeking to access the single or separate-sex service or association”.
On top of this, it also states that it would be lawful to refuse a trans person entry to a single-sex association or sporting organisation. However, the draft Code also states it would be unlawful to exclude trans people from gender-related sporting opportunities based on biological sex if not for reasons of “safety or fair competition”.
Openly queer MP and trans ally Nadia Whittome has tabled a motion urging the government to reject it. At the time of writing, this has been backed by 161 MPs.
The Scottish Greens are urging the UK government to scrap the code. Kate Stevens MSP has said: “This guidance is authoritarian and cruel and cements exclusion and segregation. It will cause real harm to trans people who have accessed these spaces and services for years without incident. With only days to go before it comes into force, the UK government still has time to change course.”
Trans+ Solidarity Alliance director, Alexandra Parmar-Yee, commented on the new guidance: “The law here is a mess, and clearly many businesses will just go gender neutral to avoid the headache, but the government risks pushing trans people yet further out of public life.”
Yesterday (6 July), the NION (Not In Our Name) collective spoke out alongside a coalition of women’s organisations, networks and community groups across the UK by publishing a joint statement on the EHRC’s updated Code of Practice. The statement reads: “These changes are being presented as necessary to protect the safety, rights and dignity of women. In reality, as women’s organisations, we believe these changes do nothing to address the actual causes of violence and inequality that women face every day. Rather, they are another example of our voices and experiences being exploited to justify the introduction of policies that promote restriction and exclusion.” Signatories include: Women Against Rape, Single Mothers’ Self-Defence, Sussex Women Against The Far Right, Level Up and Girls On The Go.
The 40-day scrutiny period – a time when MPs and peers can raise concerns before the guidance can become statutory – is coming to an end. It officially closes on 9 July. While these are terrifying times for the trans+ community, it has been uplifting to see some strong examples of trans allyship and advocacy.
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