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.”’
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.”
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