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Sex Matters Profile picture
Sex Matters
@SexMattersOrg
Sex matters in life and in law. It shouldn't take courage to say so. Press: press@sex-matters.org
12 subscribers
Jun 12 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
What @LawDisorderShow (with @HelenaKennedyKC @LordCFalconer and Nicholas Mostyn) got wrong about the FWS judgment 🧵

Naomi Cunningham (@legalfeminist) sets them right 👇 Image Baroness Kennedy expresses surprise that the Supreme Court hasn’t grappled with the problem of discrimination by perception.

Falconer later explains how discrimination by perception works: a matter dealt with fully and lucidly in the judgment at paragraphs 249–250.
May 21 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
Lets talk about Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and toilets

It is sometimes argued that Art 8 gives trans people the human right to use opposite-sex facilites.

Is that right? Image Article 8 concerns the right to respect for private and family life.

It is quite wide ranging. Image
May 19 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
The Data Bill is back in the House of Lords this afternoon.

Sex Matters has had a letter from @peterkyle which he asks us to share with supporters. Image We are pleased that the government has recognised the issue about sex data accuracy

But we are not reassured that it is taking adequate action.

We wrote back explaining the problem again. Image
Image
May 7 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
The Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of Sex gave us clarity.

Now the Data Bill will torpedo that

@telegraph reports as MPs vote down amendment that would have allowed people to prove their sex using accurate data

telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/0… The system will allow males to apply for jobs as "female" carers using the government endorsed apps.

@hen10freeman says she needs female only care to maintain her comfort, dignity and safety. Image
May 4 • 32 tweets • 7 min read
Update from Maya!

The fallout from the Supreme Court judgment is continuing thick and fast this week, and Sex Matters has been busy! Update from Maya Some organisations recognise that they need to change their practices, and others resist. The EHRC put out a very clear interim update on the practical implications of the judgment.
equalityhumanrights.com/media-centre/i…
May 2 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Dear Simon Blake,

Stonewall is acting irresponsibly and contravening its charitable objects by claiming wrongly that the #SupremeCourt FWS judgment is not the law.

We will refer @stonewalluk to the Charity Commission unless it retracts this statement. Image
Image @stonewalluk sex-matters.org/posts/publicat…
Apr 18 • 33 tweets • 5 min read
Update from Maya!

What an amazing day: 16th April 2025, the day women in the UK got their rights back. he women of the hour: Susan and Marion of For Women Scotland – Trina was in Edinburgh I was sitting in the front row of the Supreme Court with Helen Joyce, Fiona McAnena, Anya Palmer, Naomi Cunningham and Michael Foran.
Apr 17 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
Fantastic coverage of @forwomenscot’s win at the Supreme Court.

Years of stellar reporting by many media outlets in Scotland and wider UK meant well-informed correspondents able to produce a wealth of comprehensive and insightful news articles.

Here are some highlights…. /1 @SanMan1978 reported in her new role for @TheTimes on what the ruling means for women’s sports and single-sex services.
/2thetimes.com/article/b6fe21…
Apr 17 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
Following the Supreme Court judgment the Equality Act is clear

What should the government and regulators do now?

sex-matters.org/posts/updates/… (1) NHS bodies should review policies & ensure they recognise & record immutable biological sex. This includes in relation to single-sex hospital accommodation ( “Annex B” ), single-sex facilities for staff at work, the patient records & staff records, and the provision of same-sex care.
Apr 6 • 17 tweets • 4 min read
Update from Helen!
On Wednesday I spoke to a full house at the Sheldonian, the largest venue in the Oxford Literary Festival (OLF). Julie Bindel and Helen Joyce at the OLF It was a fantastic event, with only a half-hearted, minimally attended protestoutside and a large, joyous, engaged audience inside.
Mar 30 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Update from Maya!
Last weekend I had my first in-person board meeting with the new full board of Sex Matters.
Working for a virtual organisation that launched during lockdown, I still find it a (pleasant!) shock to be with so many of our human beings in one place. Image Here I am (after the meeting) with our board members (left to right): Naomi Cunningham, Emma Hilton, Anya Palmer, me, Michael Biggs, Julia Casimo, Claire Weir, Rebecca Bull, Charlotte Cadden, Tim Allan and Kate Owen. Image
Mar 23 • 15 tweets • 4 min read
Update from Maya!

The Sullivan Review has been a long time coming, and it is so good! Image Professor Alice Sullivan of University College London and her team set out in careful detail the grave problems with official data collection on sex, in areas including health, justice, education and the economy.
sex-matters.org/posts/updates/…
Mar 3 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The government is seeking to remove safeguards from the #DataBill, saying that they breach human rights.

Today we are publishing a paper which shows that, far from this being the case, the three safeguards are necessary to support everyone’s human rights 🧵 Image Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom – the parliamentary hero of the Post Office scandal – has provided a foreword to the report.

📄

"Trusting government computer systems to be infallible can result in serious harm to ordinary people." sex-matters.org/posts/publicat…Image
Mar 2 • 14 tweets • 4 min read
Update from Maya!

This week we learnt that the National Police Chiefs’ Council is proposing to adopt new guidance encouraging police forces to allow male officers with a gender-recognition certificate (GRC) to strip-search women and girls. Image The Kafkaesque guidance says that if a detainee objects, the officer may be swapped out, but consideration should also be given to the manner in which the detainee objects “and any prejudicial language should be dealt with positively”.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…
Feb 23 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
Update from Maya!

It has been another extraordinary week of fallout from the Sandie Peggie case, which escalated as the week went on. Image The case has had coverage everywhere (apart from The Guardian) and has continued to make front-page news, political debate and kitchen-table conversations.
Feb 7 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
Update from Maya!
This week I have been in Dundee at the tribunal hearing of Sandie Peggie v NHS Fife and Dr Beth Upton.Update from Maya: image of Maya Forstater and Sandie Peggie smiling. Sandie is a nurse who should have been able to expect her employer to protect her from sexual harassment and to provide a safe workplace.
dunfermlinepress.com/news/24914478.…
Nov 26, 2024 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
The case being heard today (and tomorrow) by @UKSupremeCourt will test the legal uncertainty about how GRCs interact with the Equality Act.

There is no ambiguity, however, about the lawfulness of women’s sport 🧵 Whatever the outcome of the FWS case it is clear that female-only competition is lawful.

🔹The #EqualityAct, section 195, says that it is permissible to discriminate by sex in a sport in which the physical strength, stamina or physique of average persons of one sex would put them at a disadvantage compared to average persons of the other sex.

🔹It also makes specific provision to allow gender-reassignment discrimination wherever it is necessary to secure fair competition or the safety of competitors.

Any sport that runs separate competitive categories for men and women, or boys and girls, is relying on s.195 ⬇️Image
Oct 26, 2024 • 18 tweets • 4 min read
Update from everyone!

The Sex Matters team spent last weekend at the Battle of Ideas in London. Helen Joyce at the Battle of Ideas The festival of public debate included around 100 lively discussions on big issues in politics, science, economics, culture, the law and more. Panels that touched on sex-based rights took place alongside sessions on riots, China, AI, cities, prisons, art, energy and education.
Oct 6, 2024 • 24 tweets • 4 min read
Update from Helen!

Last weekend I attended the Bigger Picture conference held by @genspect in Lisbon. Helen Joyce speaking at the Genspect conference It was Genspect’s third conference in under 18 months – a remarkable achievement for a small, newish organisation and another step towards fighting back against the “gender affirming” model of healthcare for trans-identifying people…

genspect.org/the-bigger-pic…
Sep 4, 2024 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
NEW BLOG POST: on our schools model policy

Why "watch and wait" doesn't work for schools.

sex-matters.org/posts/updates/… The draft DfE guidance says “Allow for watchful waiting: Wait for a period of time before considering a request, to ensure it is a sustained and properly thought through decision. This period of ‘watchful waiting’ may help to ensure unnecessary action is not undertaken.”
Sep 1, 2024 • 17 tweets • 4 min read
Update from Fiona!

Over the past few weeks (even while Sex Matters was closed for a much-needed summer break!) we have been busy with the fallout from the scandal of male boxers in the women’s Olympic boxing. Update from Fiona - picture of Fiona McAnena in a rowing boat wearing a medal With Emma Hilton, and the rest of the team, I have been doing interviews, media briefings…