‘Dark period’ for trans folks looms as MP makes ‘harmful’ remarks on EHRC steerage
LGBTQ+ campaigners accused a government minister of “inflammatory and dangerous” remarks that “risk a dark era of people being challenged for their compliance with gender stereotypes.”
LGBTQ+ campaigners accuse Equalities Minister Seema Malhotra of “dangerous” rhetoric
LGBTQ+ campaigners have accused a government minister of making “inflammatory and dangerous” during a statement about single-sex spaces.
Seema Malhotra, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Equalities, told MPs that “most people have the common sense to step in when necessary, for example when a person of the opposite biological sex enters a single sex facility in error – and when to alert a member of staff”.
Malhotra’s statement came as newly-released guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) confirmed that single-sex services must be based on biological sex.
The updated code has been published more than a year after a landmark Supreme Court ruling in April 2025, which determined the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
The new code addresses a variety of scenarios from sport, where it states trans people should compete alongside others of their birth sex rather than gender identity, to hospital wards, which it says can lawfully exclude trans patients if single-sex.
In response to Malhotra’s statement, a spokesperson for Trans+ Solidarity Alliance said: “Her statement in Parliament is an extraordinarily inflammatory and dangerous contribution. This risks a dark era of people being challenged for their compliance with gender stereotypes.
“This comes just after the UK was roundly condemned by international LGBTQ+ rights bodies for encouraging ‘cruel and inhumane’ gender policing. This coming on the first day of pride month contributes to a sense that this Labour government see trans equality and safety as disposable.”
Elsewhere in her statement, Malhotra confirmed that trans people are still protected by the 2010 Equality Act and that they should “not be left without services to use.”
“Providers could provide mixed-sex facilities or specific support for trans people. We believe service providers will be able to find the right balance for everyone,” she told MPs.
“We’ve also been clear that everyone, including trans people, should have the right to access the services they need in a way that is respectful, protects dignity and privacy, and ensures adequate provision.”
Malhotra’s remarks follow a joint statement from a coalition of European and international LGBTQ+ organisations – including TGEU, ILGA-Europe and IGLYO [spell these out? or is that what they are called?]– who say the UK Government has “completely failed trans people” and raise “deep alarm” over the draft Code.
“The UK Government has completely failed trans people, taking cover behind the Supreme Court decision, even though the drafting history of the Equality Act makes it clear that trans people were meant to be protected according to their gender identity.,” the statement reads.
“The Code will lead to cruel and inhumane assessments and outcomes not only for trans people who may be outed without their consent but also for all gender non-conforming people, including gender non-conforming women who are likely to face scrutiny over their gender expression, or intersex people, who are at risk of facing scrutiny over having a variation of sex characteristics.”
The coalition of LGBTQ+ organisations conclude by demanding the UK government to answer how trans people can feel safe when travelling to and/or around the UK and using services, and how LGBTQ+ communities can trust that the government “will not sacrifice their rights at the altar of electoral politics”.
