Dear @Keir_Starmer in order for you to ensure any changes to law are positive, you will appreciate the need to understand the current law, reasons why it is as it is, and effect of change (a variant of the Chestertons fence principle).Thread 1. #EqualityAct
I am a specialist equality law solicitor who has litigated about all the protected characteristics 2.
So here are my brief thoughts on sex/ gender, GRA, Equality Act and hate crime law; and the changes you announced this week to bring in self ID (whilst protecting single sex spaces) and criminalise “misgendering” 3.
Only some transwomen currently are legally women for most purposes but not all.. so any TWAW mantras about current law are inaccurate. Only a few thousand trans people have GRCs currently. 4.
Changes to the Gender Recognition Act to allow no “gatekeeping” will cause a potentially significant impact on Equality Act by recategorising those who fall within each of the two sex sub classes in s11EA 5.
Stonewall has estimated 100s of 1000s may come under the trans umbrella; and anyone would be able to self ID as opposite sex legal for whatever reason they want or no reason at all 6.
The profile, needs, risk profile etc of person in each category of man and women will thus change; as will the comparator they are compered with for discrimination and equal pay purposes. 7.
Some women may lose their comparator in equal pay and others with discrimination claims will have to fall back on a hypothetical comparator which is less desirable 8.
I wrote about my worries in 2020 at legalfeminist.org.uk/2020/07/02/leg… 9.
If self ID comes in the ability to preserve single sex spaces, services etc become both legally and practically difficult. We know this from the experience of a single sex domestic violence shelter in Vancouver plagued by litigation for years 10. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberly_… 10.
So just saying you will protect single sex spaces, though you must to prevent indirect sex and belief discrimination (precisely how will you?) isn’t enough. What about comparators, equal pay, occupational requirements, sport, accommodations ?11.
With regard to all these matters, no one has done the work of listening to female equality law experts, sports experts, womens in prison experts in VAWG experts and so on. You need to talk to those with concerns 12.
Turning to hate crime amending law to specifically criminalise misgendering will cause real problems for women defending single sex spaces. We know this from massive use of vexatious complaints re gender critical people by gender activists for simply stating their beliefs 13.
Worth reading the Court of Appeal in Miller v College of Law judiciary.uk/live-hearings/… and the High Court in Scottow v CPS judiciary.uk/wp-content/upl…
To date,no one has any useful research on effects of any of these changes in UK. We know of problems in Canada, US states, Ireland but they are swept under the carpet by ideologues. Genuine research is needed but has been blocked again by ideologues in universities 13.
In a conflict of rights scenario, which this is, to only listen to one side of the conflict leads to bad and unjust law ( as well as problems politically) End

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More from @AudreySuffolk

Jun 29
Thread: A lot of people, some using unpleasant taunts, seem to be arguing that a traumatised victim of rape has no legal right in UK Equality law to challenge a policy of a charity of including all TW into a "women only" support group. I disagree. Subject to evidence, this
could well be an arguable claim for indirect sex discrimination by the rape victim. It relates to part of the Act dealing with services to the public. An org. should not discriminate in the terms on which it provides the service to her (s29(2)(a)). She claims that the terms on
which the service is provided discriminates against her on the grounds of her sex (she may also argue disability and/or belief, subject to evidence). Let me explain why. In any policy, the starting point is no discrimination against any protected class, sex , race, age etc.
Read 13 tweets
May 18
All #emplaw practitioners would do well to read kcl.ac.uk/law/research/f… as it has some statements about Equality Act & discrimination which I find interesting & contentious. Their entire hypothesis is about not registering sex & people/companies relying entirely on some form of
sense of gender or looser. Sex and GR would be replaced as a merged protected characteristic by gender. Some thoughts:
1. their assertion that this is simply in line with current protection re perceived sex doesn't compute. My work experience is that sex discrimination isn't
related to presentation but nearly always by biology (relative strength, size and potential for childbirth). Discrimination against trans women is nearly always on grounds of perceiving them to be trans.

2. That race and sexual orientation are not registered, and sex is, seems
Read 10 tweets

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