This account is to tweet about the Equality Act 2010 legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/… and what the law says about single sex services, spaces and other provisions (from changing rooms, prisons, dormitories, charities, womens' sports etc...)
Many women are concerned about losing single sex spaces to 'gender self ID- @SusanBaroness says “The government absolutely agrees that maintaining access to single sex spaces in some circumstances is important, and helps to keep vulnerable women in particular safe.”
But in practice many orgs @hmpps @girlguiding @fa @NHSuk, local councils etc. already allow males into female “single sex spaces”, sports, etc.. on the basis of gender self id and they say are doing this in line with the Equality Act. So how does it work?
The Equality Act 2010 protects everyone in England, Wales and Scotland from discrimination and harassment based on nine protected characteristics, including, sex, "gender reassignment" and sexual orientation (also age, race, disability, religion, pregnancy etc...)
"Sex" means whether you are a man or a woman. In 2010 this possibly seemed self explanatory. @EHRC recently clarified it means 'legal sex' i.e. what it says on your birth certificate. For the vast majority of people this is the same as biological sex. equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/ne… 
"Gender Reassignment" is a wide category which includes anyone who has made the decision to live 'in the opposite gender' to their biological sex. It covers people even if they haven't made any changes yet. It doesn't require surgery or depend on what someone looks like.
The reason it is so wide is to protect *all* trans people from discrimination and harassment, for example if a person tells their employer they intend to transition they might be bullied or transferred out a client facing role.
The Equality Act is really, really clear that having the protected characteristic of "gender reassignment" does not mean a person has changed sex. This is the first place where people can get confused. The law says a transwoman who hasn't gone through the GRC process is a man.
Under the Equality Act in most situations men and women should be treated equally. So a woman and a transwoman, and a man and a transman should all be treated equally, protected from harassment and discrimination.
But there are some situations where women and men can be treated differently. The Equality Act makes 8 specific 'exemptions': (1) separate /single sex services (where there is a good reason like biology, privacy, close personal contact & in hospitals & care) (2) sport
(3) occupational requirements (jobs like women's refuge staff, bra fitter, actor etc..) (4) communal accommodation (5) women's charities (6) associations (7) political parties (all women shortlists are allowed) (8) Public sector duty to actively tackle disadvantage.
The principle of the act is clear: Where single-sex exemptions are justified, men are excluded cos they are not women. No other protected characteristic is relevant. No separate case needed for disabled, older men, gay men, religious men, or men with a transgender identity.
This is often misunderstood. Transwomen who remain legally men can be excluded from all-women spaces. This is not special discrimination because they are trans but legitimate discrimination because they are men. This has been clarified by the @EHRC equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/ne…
But in practice lots of organisations are including transwomen who are legally and biologically male in women's hospital wards, prisons, refuges, changing rooms, sports, charities and all women shortlists....and they think they are following the Equality Act. What is going on?
Over the years @EHRC has misunderstood the act, and others have copied the same misunderstanding, like this piece of advice from 2010 assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
Organisations are telling women and girls that they don't have rights when they do, and telling men and boys that they do have rights when they don't . Like this piece of advice from @EastSussexCC mermaidsuk.org.uk/assets/media/E…
@EHRC has belatedly started making corrections. In a statement released on July 30 2018 it stated that a trans person is protected from sex discrimination on the basis of their legal sex, not the sex they wish to be perceived as. equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/ne…
On Oct 5th 2018 it updated its guidance doc “What Equality Law Means for your Business” removing statement “Where someone has a gender recognition certificate they shld be treated in their acquired gender for all purposes &therefore shld not be excluded from single sex services”.
They also removed an example stating that a transwoman should not be barred from the women's loos in a pub But similar statements and example remain on other documents and areas of the website
These examples (last updated June 2018) are not in line with the Equality Act. Any many can be excluded from a women's only service or a women's sport. It does not need a case-by-case justification for any particular man.
On September 27 they tweeted that Girl Guides is following the rules on single sex exemptions, even though it is allowing people who are considered boys/men under the Equality Act
If you read the July 30 statement carefully you can see that the @EHRC has completely changed its advice, because what it has been saying before was not in line with the Equality Act. But they are not shouting about it.
Continued confusion about what the law says undermines both women's rights and transgender peoples rights, leaving both open to humiliation and uncertainty. The @EHRC should make a new years resolution to be clear about the Act.
The Equality Act excludes men from single sex services for women, it does not require organisations to judge men or women on what they look like, & it requires that organisations overall do not discriminate against transgender people in providing general access [END]
