Thread by @SpeakUp4WomenNZ

Our talk about sex self-identification is about the start and we’ll be live tweeting. Pull up a seat! #nzpol

@beth_nosnhoj starts by introducing the group “We formed in 2018 out of necessity, to fight sex self-ID within the Births, Deaths, and Marriages Bill, as we could see that the bill contained serious consequences for women and girls, and no other groups were speaking up.

“we support the current law as it stands and are not looking to roll it back. We support the rights of transgender people to live free from violence and discrimination and we recognise that they are stigmatised and vulnerable, and we deplore harmful stereotypes.

Speaking about women’s rights and questioning the impact of new laws is not synonymous with being anti-trans. If our lawmakers could facilitate public debate, NZ could come to better solutions that improve life for trans people - whilst protecting and enhancing women’s rights.

A birth certificate is an important foundation document, and provides an official source of evidence of its contents. The current Act allows a small number of qualifying people to change sex on their birth certificate. This procedure is still in place, and we support it remaining

A person wanting to change the sex recorded on their birth certificate has to apply to the Family Court for a declaration. They must satisfy the Court, on the basis of medical evidence, that they have assumed the ‘gender identity’ of the opposite sex…

having undergone medical treatment to acquire “physical conformation that accords with the gender identity” and that they will, as a result of medical treatment, maintain the gender identity. The person applying does not need to show they have undergone full genital surgery.

Many people still think ‘transgender’ refers to the few people for whom the existing procedure was designed: people who from an early age are so uncomfortable with their biological sex that they undergo surgery and permanent medicalisation to alleviate their feelings of distress.

But things have changed. The transgender umbrella as defined by organisations such as Stonewall now includes an ever-widening number of people such as cross-dressers, “non-binary”, genderqueer and gender-fluid people.  Most do not seek medical or surgical transition.

@jantinetti now wants to get rid of the gatekeeping role of the Family Court, and the requirements of medical treatment and permanent physical change.

Under new self-ID law, a person will be able to change the sex recorded on their birth certificate by making a simple statutory declaration stating that they "identify" as a member of the opposite sex and intends to continue "identifying’’ as such.

There is no requirement that the person undergoes any medical assessment or treatment, or even any change of appearance.
A person may be male in all physical respects, and present as ‘masculine’ in appearance, yet ‘identify’ as female and be legally recognised as female.

This law will allow any man, at any stage in his life, for any reason to declare himself female and access women’s spaces, services, sports, representative positions and scholarships accordingly. #sexmatters #nzpol #bdmrr

We’re now watching a video about the history of the BDMRR Bill…. This will be on our website later tonight.

@DaphnaRedliner is now talking “Women’s rights have been fought for and are protected in law based on sex. Rights that will be impacted by sex self-ID include; single‐sex spaces and institutions such as changing rooms, girls’ schools, women’s shelters, rape crisis centres…

… Girl Guides, women’s prisons; meaningful records and statistics – for example, crime, health, employment, pay gap; female‐only scholarships and quotas; intimate searches or medical procedures; Caregiving; Counselling services and Sports teams

The Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of “sex”, except in specific circumstances. For example: S 27 allows for discrimination on the basis of sex, where sex is a “genuine occupational qualification”; where “reasonable standards of privacy” need to be upheld

…or where the job involves counselling about intimate matters (for example sex or violence)).
S 43 allows for the maintenance of “separate facilities for each sex” on the grounds of “public decency or public safety.”

S 49 provides an exception in relation to participation in sport where the “strength, stamina or physique” of competitors is relevant.
S 55 and S 58 provide exceptions in relation to sex‐specific accommodation and schools.

The Government’s view is that sex self-ID wont impact women and girls. Reliance is placed on clause s 22I, which provides that despite the proposed sex self-ID changes “the sex of every person must continue to be determined by reference to the general law.”

We do not consider this view correct – and we have the benefit of access to legal expertise in this area. How is any agency, school, sports team or female‐only service provider meant to assess a person’s sex if not via their birth certificate?

The issue is not limited to the males that choose to “self‐identify”. As no change in physiology or appearance is required, males who “self‐identify” as females will for all practical, everyday purposes be indistinguishable from the general population of males.

How then will male access to female public facilities (which, according to the Human Rights Act, exist for reasons of safety and decency) possibly be regulated?

Currently, access is regulated by a social contract whereby the providers and users of those single sex services know their rights and will insist on them when necessary. This social contract will disintegrate under self-identification law.

Sex self-ID requires no medical or even appearance change. So the social understanding of what a transwomen is changes and women will lose their confidence in challenging a male who presents as a man in women’s spaces. No one uses a birth certificate to access these spaces…

so there’s no way of knowing if the person is a gender non-conforming transwoman, or a man. No one wants to upset someone or be called a bigot, so women will stop challenging men in their spaces. This is dangerous for transwomen as well as women and children.

These issues are highly complex and there is no easy answer to many of the questions that arise. But the Government has not even recognised that there is an issue.

The real conversation our country needs to be having – the one that we have not even started yet – is: how can we improve the lives of transgender New Zealanders without impacting the rights of women and girls? #nzpol