SCHOOLS, hospitals and gyms are set to bar trans women from female-only loos and changing rooms under new rules.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has dismissed demands from hardline campaigners to relax regulations allowing trans people to choose their facilities.
AFPSusan Smith and Marion Calder, Directors of For Women Scotland celebrate outside Britain’s Supreme Court in London after judges said the legal definition of a “woman” is based on a person’s sex at birth[/caption]
Forthcoming regulations will clarify that trans athletes can be excluded from women’s sports, and that it’s fair for a woman to object to a trans woman being present while she’s undressing.
The rules will apply to any organisation offering services to the public.
This includes shops, gyms, NHS hospitals, prisons and government departments, all of which will be bound by the guidance.
Private companies and charities delivering public services, such as care homes contracted by councils, will also have to comply.
The EHRC plans to submit the updated rules to equalities minister Bridget Phillipson this month, who is expected to approve them.
The guidance follows an April Supreme Court ruling which defined “women” and “sex” as biological sex under the Equality Act.
Several major organisations, including NHS trusts, are delaying changes until the EHRC guidance is issued.
Angry trans activists are likely to launch legal challenges against the new regulations.
Services won’t be obligated to provide single-sex spaces.
However, if they do, trans women must be excluded, as failure to do so could be illegal.
The rules will allow staff to request birth certificates to safeguard women-only areas, with exclusions of trans people deemed lawful in many situations.
One part of the draft even specifies that a trans man could be removed from a women-only space if his presence causes distress, even though he is biologically female.
Organisations must ensure reasonable alternatives are available for trans people, as denying access to any facilities would be considered unjust.
Staff will be authorised to inquire about birth sex or legal gender status, but they must approach the matter with care.
A source commented: “The EHRC does know what the law is and can’t publish final guidance that is in complete contravention of the Supreme Court verdict, however much some might like them to.”
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