Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said the government will take the time needed to get guidance right on the use of single-sex space by trans people.The guidance, which has been seen by the BBC, would allow places such as hospitals and gyms to question transgender women over whether they should be using single-sex services based on how they look.Phillipson, who received the code of practice nearly three months ago, said she would consider the code of practice “thoroughly and carefully”.She added that it was important to make sure women had access to single-service provisions such as rape crisis centres while ensuring that trans people are treated with “dignity and respect”.The 300-page document was drawn up the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chaired by Baroness Falkner after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that legally a woman should be defined by biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The EHRC has to provide practical advice to businesses and services about how this should work in practice. Following the Supreme Court ruling in April, the EHRC produced interim guidance which said single-sex spaces should only be open to people of the same biological sex, otherwise they cease to be single-sex areas. That would mean, for instance, that a trans woman – a biological male who identifies as a woman – would not be able to use women’s toilets and changing rooms. Although the commission said they should offer transgender people suitable alternatives where possible.The EHRC has said transgender people, who are also protected by equalities law, …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnEducation Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said the government will take the time needed to get guidance right on the use of single-sex space by trans people.The guidance, which has been seen by the BBC, would allow places such as hospitals and gyms to question transgender women over whether they should be using single-sex services based on how they look.Phillipson, who received the code of practice nearly three months ago, said she would consider the code of practice “thoroughly and carefully”.She added that it was important to make sure women had access to single-service provisions such as rape crisis centres while ensuring that trans people are treated with “dignity and respect”.The 300-page document was drawn up the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chaired by Baroness Falkner after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that legally a woman should be defined by biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The EHRC has to provide practical advice to businesses and services about how this should work in practice. Following the Supreme Court ruling in April, the EHRC produced interim guidance which said single-sex spaces should only be open to people of the same biological sex, otherwise they cease to be single-sex areas. That would mean, for instance, that a trans woman – a biological male who identifies as a woman – would not be able to use women’s toilets and changing rooms. Although the commission said they should offer transgender people suitable alternatives where possible.The EHRC has said transgender people, who are also protected by equalities law, …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
