Delay on transgender steerage to keep away from bogs ‘being policed’
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance reportedly suggests transgender people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on what they look like, which could cause issues
Ministers will take time to get transgender guidance “right” to avoid a situation where “toilets are being policed by people”, a minister has said.
Children’s minister Josh MacAlister acknowledged “the problem isn’t going to go away” as the Government continues to assess guidance produced by the equalities watchdog.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance suggests transgender people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on what they look like, according to The Times, which has seen a leaked copy of the document.
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The document was sent to ministers almost three months ago but Mr MacAlister said it would take time to assess. He said: “I just ask people to imagine small corridors where you’ve got a set-up around toilets that’s pretty restricted and you’ve got – whether it’s a restaurant or a school or a gym – not that much space to play with.
“The guidance, as it’s written, 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. And so we want to avoid being in a position where toilets are being policed by people.”
Elsewhere on Thursday the Women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson said she was considering “thoroughly and carefully” guidance from the watchdog.
The EHRC wrote to Ms Phillipson, who is also Education Secretary, last month urging her to hurry up with bringing in the new guidance.
The code has not been updated since 2011 and the latest draft has been produced in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in April, which said the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.”.
Asked about the code on Thursday, Ms Phillipson said: “I have responsibilities to make sure that’s done properly and we’re taking the time to get this right.
“This is an important area and we want to make sure that women have access to a single-sex provision – that’s incredibly important for domestic violence services, rape crisis centres, so that women are able to heal from the trauma they’ve experienced.
“But of course, trans people should be treated with dignity and respect.”
