EHRC condemned for “harmful” guidance saying trans people can be excluded from single-sex services
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has updated its guidance on single-sex spaces, which state that transgender people can be excluded if the reasoning is “justified and proportionate”.
Under its new guidelines, which interpret existing equality laws in the UK and were released on 4 April, services like changing rooms and refuges can prohibit access to trans people.
This can be the case so long as it is a “proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”. An array of examples where this would be deemed acceptable are cited in the guide, including a “domestic abuse refuge offers emergency accommodation to female survivors.” “Feedback from survivors indicates that they would feel uncomfortable sharing accommodation with trans women for reasons of trauma and safety,” according to the hypothetical situation. “The provider decides to exclude trans women from the refuge.
It compiles a list of alternative sources of support in the local area which can be provided to trans women who approach the centre for help.” The EHRC clarified that its updated messaging exists so that service providers can appropriately interpret the law and should not be seen as engaging in the so-called “wider debate” about sex and gender. “There is no place for discrimination against anyone based on their sex or gender reassignment,” said Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chair of the EHRC. “Organisations are legally allowed to restrict services to a single sex in some circumstances.
