Over 100 UK Members of Parliament (MPs) have signed a motion to block the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s latest guidance for single-sex spaces.
The revised Code of Practice updates how the Equality Act should be applied in employment, public services and the operation of public authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. The changes follow last year’s Supreme Court ruling on the definition of ‘woman’ and ‘biological sex’, which had a deep impact on the lives of trans people in the country.
The guidance states that toilets with the designation for male or female should be only used for those assigned that gender at birth, and that trans people would be able to use accessible toilets. It also deems that gender-based protections are only applicable to one’s birth gender, regardless of whether the person has received a legal Gender Recognition Certificate.
The code was laid before Parliament on May 21, and will have to be reviewed by June 30.
LGBTQ+ organisations and activists have raised concerns over the fact that the EHRC’s guidance will push trans people out of public life.
The parliamentary motion to block the EHRC guidance in the UK was brought forward by Labour MP Nadia Whittome, who stated on social media, “The Code will exclude trans people from services and facilities that they have long used without issue, putting them at increased risk of harassment and violence, and effectively pushing them out of public life.”
She continued, “It ushers in an era of enforced segregation for trans people, the policing of which will be outsourced to service providers, including businesses, charities and public bodies.”
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The Labour MP was first elected in 2019 and has since been an outspoken advocate for the trans community, including joining the Women and Equalities Committee last year.
In response to the proposed EHRC guidance, a spokesperson for Trans+ Solidarity Alliance called it “unjust, unworkable and unacceptable”.
In a press release, they said: “More than a hundred MPs have signed and made it clear that this code is unjust, unworkable and unacceptable. Trans people across the country are looking to their MPs to join this growing chorus to reject the guidance.”
They further stated, “The government must hear the scale of rebellion within the Labour benches on this issue. They are able to withdraw the guidance and fix the mess of trans people’s legal protections at any time. A bathroom ban is not how the Equality Act was supposed to work.”
While the EHRC’s proposed guidance is not law, if it is ‘broken’, the commission can assist in investigating the matter and assist in discrimination complaints to legal authorities.
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