Thread by @NorfolkWomen

@NSFTtweets - joining Stonewall has scrambled your brains.

Only women give birth.

By calling mothers "birthing people," you discriminate against women with special needs and women with English as a second language.

It is also disrespectful, dehumanising and offensive to women.

Erasure of the word “woman” is part of
a political & cultural movement delegitimising clarity about sex.

Sex matters for safety & dignity in healthcare for recording accurate information, obtaining consent for examinations & providing single-sex facilities & accommodation.

Avoiding the word woman when referring to maternity mental health and female biology, and instead using “pregnant people” is your participation in that highly contested political movement, @NSFTtweets, and is discriminatory.

@NSFTtweets CEO & HR team were told in Sept 2020 that you misrepresent the Equality Act.

You omit the protected characteristic of sex, which covers men and women, and by using the word gender, which reflect stereotypes, not biology.

Why is maternity & pregnancy still missing?

@ZoeBillingham

You failed to answer @NorfolkWomen's "Ask the Board" questions sent on 22 March - receipt confirmed by DG, CEO's Business Manager.

Did your staff tell you about our questions?

@NSFTtweets is failing in its Public Sector Equality Duty & the Nolan principles.

@NorfolkWomen note your values - positively - respectfully - together.

Failing to deal with the equality omissions and ignoring our Ask the Board questions and a request on FOIs you have received is not positive.

It is disrespect and exclusion of women, @NSFTtweets

6 months ago, we asked you what steps are the Trust taking:

1) to re-establish single sex wards, in compliance with NHS policy [ and the law - see @SuellaBraverman the Attorney General's recent speech]

2) to ensure @NSFTtweets corrects the Equality policy errors we told the you about in Sept 2020, which include omitting the protected characteristics of sex & of maternity & pregnancy, & the erroneous use of 'gender' instead of the protected characteristic of gender reassignment>

.... in the 2022 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and all trust communications and policies

3) to review all @NSFTtweets Equality Impact Assessments to consider the impact of decisions on sex (not gender) and pregnancy and maternity.

4) to review @NSFTtweets' sexual violence prevention policies and consider whether accommodation and patient records policies might hinder prevention or detection of harassment and violence against women and girls.

5) to assess the risks of @NSFTtweets participating in Stonewall membership, and conduct due diligence assessment of whether the scheme is consistent with the law.

@NSFTtweets cannot continue to misrepresent the law, and promote highly contested gender identity ideology.

We look forward to a response to the questions above, and correction of the errors of policy & law.

It is time to talk to us, @ZoeBillingham.

#RespectOurSex #SexMatters