Thread by @fairplaywomen

Last year Kate McEwan wrote a blog published on Graham Lineham's website. She revealed how a trans-identified male called Karen Passmore was bullying a woman called Esther. /1

grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/a-woman-to-l…

Trans-identified male Karen Passmore is now bullying Kate McEwan for writing the blog.

Passmore says they have a GRC so Kate has committed a crime by referring to them as male.

Passmore is wrong. /2

grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/a-woman-to-w…

It is only a criminal offence to disclose protected information about someone with a GRC (including birth sex) if the person who discloses *knows* the other has a GRC. /3 legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/7/s…

There is no public register listing who has a GRC so for most people, including Kate, it would be impossible to *know* which trans people have a GRC and which don't (only 5000 in the UK do btw). So referring to birth sex doesn't breach Section 22 of the GRA2004. /4

The only way someone can commit an offence by disclosing someone's birth sex is if they learnt about it in an 'official capacity'. e.g. as their employer, a service provider, a public office holder. /5

Talking about the birth sex of someone with a GRC is not a criminal offence under Section 22 if some who knows told you, or if its public knowledge (the trans person is publicly 'out' as trans) or if you can simply tell by looking. /6

Sometimes, knowing the birth sex of an individual and being free to ask or talk about it with others is going to necessary and important.

The Equality Act allows people to be excluded from female-only spaces based on *birth sex* - even if they have a GRC. /7

So talking about someone's birth sex has to be possible otherwise how could we uphold our sex-based rights?

Never let the threat of a GRC stop you being clear about what sex someone was born. /end