Thread by @ShahrarAli

Safeguarding Women’s spaces and Sexual Predators: Answer to @GreenJennyJones electshahrar.co.uk/shahrar-ali-on… Also electshahrar.co.uk/s/Shahrar-Ali-… Thread follows.

Thank you for your question:

“When I ask Trans activists if it's wrong when males *falsely* Self ID as female, gain access to female spaces, assault and rape already vulnerable women, they say, well rape is wrong. So ... why not put in safeguards?” (Twitter, 20/09/21)

This is an important question for everybody with a stake in fairness and safety, all of us. Trans people are also failed by manipulators who would abuse policies put in place for them, whether amongst their midst or not; but so long as people do lie then safeguards [needed].

Protected spaces reserved for women or women & girls only have been established throughout world, not because all men are rapists, but because it is impossible to know in advance which men might pose a threat. Any man entering spaces can be easily identified & required to leave.

Gender self-identification, if used as a sole basis for entry to a previously same-sex space or service, can provide a loophole through which male sexual predators can self-identify as women in order to gain access to women and, in some instances, children.

Moreover, they wouldn’t necessarily have to self-identify at all, in order exploit the probability that they wouldn’t be challenged. Women themselves are self-censoring for fear of being labelled transphobic.

Any falsely trans-identifying man can claim to be rightfully present in women's protected spaces and so cannot be required to leave. This is not fear-mongering; there is evidence that it is happening.

Male prisoners convicted of sexual crimes are self-identifying as women in order to serve their sentences in the easier environment of a women's prison, with ready access to more victims, e.g. Karen White (Guardian, 11 Oct 2018). theguardian.com/society/2018/o…

There is recent high-profile incident of a transwoman, Agee Merager, a tier-one sexual offender, facing multiple felony charges of indecent exposure after four women & a girl accused her of exposing her male genitals at Wi Spa, Los Angeles, June 2021. pinknews.co.uk/2021/09/03/wi-…

She has two earlier convictions for indecent exposure, one in 2002 and another in 2003. Five years later, she was convicted for failing to register as a sex offender. [See full text for footnote on doubts about whether a lying rapist should have their preferred pronouns used.]

Reports of sexual predation by trans-identifying males can be found on Facebook site This Never Happens, which collects such reports in order to refute the claim that adopting a policy of allowing men access to women's protected spaces does not cause problems.

Men are responsible for 99% of sexual assaults and 100% of rapes under UK law. I do not profess to know the solutions but I do know that my starting place would be to listen to all sides, including women & girls who feel that their single-sex spaces should be protected better.

I would find it especially problematic – and this has been central to one of my core campaign aims to fix – that the concerns of women and girls were somehow not of equal worth to those of any other group.

I regard it as core to Green Party politics & value that we would take considerable effort to make sure that we do seek out those concerns in order the better to address them. We should reject as authoritarian attempts to silence their concerns without giving them a fair hearing.

Let’s be absolutely clear where smears of transphobia can lead. Andy Wightman resigned because he felt bullied into not being able to vote for an amendment in Scottish Parliament. This would have guaranteed victim of sexual assault right to be examined by a clinician of same sex.

This passed by 113 votes to 9: I am with the 113. I hope this answers your question, Jenny.

Vote #RealityCheck

Ok so here's that footnote - as it is important for accurate crime statistics. I doubt I’m the only one who feels that a report which respects the preferred pronouns of a multiply lying rapist could do with a reality check.

Whilst I don't profess to know all solutions, one thing I'm absolutely clear about is women & girls should have right to say, "No!", & there will be situations where onus should not be put on them to protest. Accommodation of everybody's preferences will not always be reasonable.