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Much being discussed on what exactly "furlough" means & what constitutes one exercise a day -- this is important because rules & laws matter.

But 10 years on from the Equality Act in UK it is not clear what is meant by 'sex' - and only two journal articles written (this year!)
Julius Komorowski identifies four options:
A) Same as common law = chromosomes, gonads, genitals
or with exceptions:
B) Person has GRC
C) Person is “for all practical purposes” indistinguishable
D) Person is "transsexual" as per s 7 of the 2010 Act
lawscot.org.uk/members/journa…
He rules out D) “proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex” . He says neither option A or B can be ruled out
Alex Sharpe think that it is definitely option D (i.e. "transwomen are women" based on self ID)

Article in the Modern Law Review
The Equality and Human Rights Commission think it is option B - transwomen without a GRC are men for the purposes of the Equality Act.

equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/ne…
But their guidance is that service providers should act like it is option C) or D)

equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-…
What do you think defines "sex" in the Equality Act 2010?

(legal twitter edition - others please answer the next poll)
What do you think defines "sex" in the Equality Act?

(anyone can answer this one!)
Twitter doesn't allow five options...

.... perhaps the answer is "we don't know".

Which is a weird position to be in after 10 years of a law!

Anyone want to help me work it out!
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Maya Forstater
@MForstater
This is chilling.

This is what is happening in Canada: Vancouver Rape Relief is called a "neo-nazi style", "cryptofacist" "hate group" for wanting to provide a rape crisis service & domestic violence refuge to female survivors with female staff .

medium.com/empowered-tran…
Public funding was threatened to be withdrawn "VRR’s leadership was told to think about their choices... Choosing inclusion would have cost VRR absolutely nothing & gained them everything"

VRR's leadership chose not to 'include' males.

Public funding was removed.
Next plan of those who don't want women recovering from male violence to be allowed *any* female only space....

... Sue them for discrimination: "With enough lawsuits, you could seize ownership of the facilities and throw the current collective out on their ears."
Read 16 tweets
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Maya Forstater
@MForstater
I have a degree of patience for arguing with aggressive TRAs on the internet who accuse me of being legally illiterate and say that Sch III p28 EqA gives people the right to access services of the opposite sex. But I would find it quite intimidating (and dangerous) in real life.
It should not require *any* degree of legal literacy for people to be able to use communal changing, washing & sleeping facilities understanding who is allowed where.

That we are arguing about this is a sign of the failure of @EHRC to do its job: clear workable guidance.
When people are undressing, washing, sleeping in a communal space there should be no ambiguity about whether it is single sex or mixed sex

There need to be bright lines to be clear who has a right to use that space

"Gender identity" & "gender expression" are not bright lines
Read 3 tweets
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Maya Forstater
@MForstater
It is ten years, this week, since the Equality Act got royal assent .

At its heart are 9 protected characteristics and 4 prohibited acts (direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation)
10 years old and still there is ambiguity about what one of the protected characteristics -- sex -- means.

And about whether single and separate sex service can be clearly single sex.

As the @Commonswomequ report said 'different people use the term in different ways'
The government is committed to producing new guidance to clarify.

If @GEOgovuk goes back to the law it will find that what is in the current official guidance is not supported.

This guidance from @EHRC is the opposite of what the Equality Act says (what is a 'gender role'?)
Read 8 tweets

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