Major UK media organisations have signed an open letter calling for the Government to take action towards securing trans rights by updating the Gender Recognition Act.  

As part of an open letter coordinated by InterMedia UK, major companies, such as The Walt Disney Company, Warner Media, NBCUniversal, Sky, Financial Times, Discovery Channel, Endemol and GSN urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take action in securing trans rights. It reads, “We, as a collective of organisations from the media and entertainment industry, are writing to express our support of the trans community.”’

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On Friday, we delivered an open letter from some of the biggest names in the media industry to Prime Minister @borisjohnsonuk expressing our support for the trans community. This is a very crucial time as the government is planning to announce changes to the GRA which could have a devastating impact on trans people's ability to live and work safely and uninhibited.  We recognised and value the contributions of our trans colleagues and will do all we can to promote a fully inclusive LGBTQIA+ working environment for all. Dear Prime Minister, We, as a collective of organisations from the media and entertainment industry, are writing to express our support of the trans community. As it stands, the UK is a global leader in LGBTQ+ equality – and the government has been right to work closely with businesses to advance equality on the world stage. We all strive to be trans-inclusive organisations and believe that a diverse workforce, including trans employees, offers greater business success. With this in mind, we would be opposed to any policy or legislation changes that impact the trans community negatively. Trans people have always been able to use single-sex facilities that match their gender, and the Equality Act 2010 codified this. Additionally, it has been widely reported that the 2018 public consultation on GRA reform shows up to 70% of respondents agreed that it was appropriate to remove additional barriers to trans people being able to identify and live authentically. Failing to honour the government’s commitment to implement the consultation findings, and even increasing restrictions on trans people’s ability to live authentically, benefits no one. It would mean changes to working environments that would make it hard for trans and non-binary people to focus on their work, preventing them from being able to travel safely, and inhibiting them from operating in society. We hope that we can continue to be part of discussion about the future of trans equality in the UK, working together to make progress for the trans community and ensure our businesses maintain the diverse perspectives that help make us successful. #transrights #translivesmatter

A post shared by InterMediaUK (@intermediauk) on Jul 13, 2020 at 9:52am PDT

In response to Equality Minister Liz Truss’ comments around restricting trans people from accessing public spaces, media organisations voiced their condemnation of such changes and demanded action towards strengthening Gender Recognition. While ministers are allegedly planning on banning ’conversion therapy’, many fear that trans rights are being left behind. 

InterMedia UK, in conjunction with other organisations, wrote, “Trans people have always been able to use single-sex facilities that match their gender, and the Equality Act 2010 codified this. Additionally, it has been widely reported that the 2018 public consultation on GRA reform shows up to 70% of respondents agreed that it was appropriate to remove additional barriers to trans people being able to identify and live authentically.”

The open letter continues, “Failing to honour the government’s commitment to implement the consultation findings, and ever-increasing restrictions on trans people’s ability to live authentically benefits no one.”

On Friday, July 10, the open letter was delivered to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and posted on InterMedia UK’s Instagram page two days later. The media organisations further state, “We all strive to be trans-inclusive organisations and believe that a diverse workforce, including trans employees, offers greater business success. With this in mind, we would be opposed to any policy or legislation changes that impact the trans community negatively.”