Written evidence submitted by The Pink Singers [GRA0462]
This has been a devastating time for equality and trans rights. The trans community has been dealt blow after blow by Donald Trump, JK Rowling and now Boris Johnson. This is a regression for human rights and for the equal and diverse society that we supposedly pride ourselves on being here in the UK.
The Prime Minister is scrapping reforms to the GRA, and is planning to roll back some of the rights that trans people already have under the Equality Act.
Self-ID
Self-ID would mean that trans people can apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) without having to provide several years’ worth of evidence of how they are living, as well as medical statements, to be judged by a panel of people whom they have never met. This is a degrading and expensive process, not to mention a long one. Many people would have already waited years to be seen by a Gender Identity Clinic (GIC).
Having a GRC has got nothing to do with using women’s toilets or other female spaces. Those rights are written into the Equality Act. Having a GRC means you can get your gender changed on your birth certificate. It doesn’t affect anyone else. Self-ID does not affect anyone else.
Toilets
Boris Johnson is planning to introduce new guidelines on lavatory provision. Currently, trans people can use the toilets that correspond to their gender. This is set out in the Equality Act. Trans women do not go into toilets and assault other women. Women are not at risk from trans women. If a male sexual predator decides to go into a female toilet to commit an assault, that is a crime. He does not need to declare or pretend that he is a woman to do so. Self-ID does not give permission or make it easier for men to commit assaults against women in toilets.
However, forcing trans women to use male toilets would violate their dignity and breach their human rights. We defend all women’s right to use women’s toilets, and it is simply unthinkable that this right should be revoked.
Perhaps Liz Truss and Boris Johnson would like women to be ‘post-op’ or have medically transitioned before being allowed in women’s toilets? We have yet to hear their specific plans. How would this even be policed? It should be noted that not all trans people choose to, or able to go through a medical transition. Nor do they have to. Individuals have the right to choose what happens to their body, and frankly, that’s their own business. Furthermore, wait times for medical treatment usually last for years. Many trans people are waiting for the possibility to transition medically. Some opponents of the GRA reforms are expressing concern over people with ‘male anatomy’ using women’s toilets. In my experience, and I’m sure you would agree, women in toilets do not routinely expose themselves to each other. They use the toilet in the privacy of a cubicle. Whatever their anatomy, women and girls in toilets are not looking at each other’s intimate body parts. They use the toilet and leave - perhaps having a chat with each other while they queue, fully clothed.
What does this mean for trans men? Will they suddenly be forced to use women’s toilets? How will women feel about this, suddenly being faced with men using women-only facilities as a matter of course?
Safe Spaces
The same applies for other ‘safe spaces’ such as refuges or prisons. Trans women are being equated with male sexual predators in the media, and this causes division and hatred. Women’s rights and trans rights are not incompatible. Assaulting a woman is a crime - regardless of whether the assailant is trans or not.
Non-Binary People
Non-binary people’s gender identity is not recognised in law. This goes hand in hand with a lack of awareness and acceptance of non-binary identities among general society, and thus has a major impact on every aspect of the life of non-binary people, including work, social life, passport, filling in forms, and how they are perceived and treated in day-to-day life. Thousands of non-binary people may not be able to live as their true selves due to the level of hostility that exists towards them.
It is unclear why non-binary people aren’t allowed to be recognised in law. The only reason we can think of from the government’s perspective is that it would be too much of an administrative upheaval, and that Piers Morgan’s supporters will roll their eyes and say: “Why can’t men just be men, and women just be women?” - those people forget that not everyone shares the same experiences as them, and that for some people it’s not that simple. If we were to try to please them, we would live out our lives unhappily, repressing our feelings and our true selves, for the sake of not causing a fuss. Please, help others to understand and consider this. Being trans and being non-binary are not a choice.
Trans and non-binary people are an oppressed minority, and that’s why we need support in educating others and raising awareness. More than anything, we need to have the right to exist and to be safe.
The results of the consultation showed overwhelming support for the proposed reforms to the GRA. The government suggests these results are ‘skewed’ because a lot of trans people responded. What else do they expect when they are asking about trans issues? The results of the consultation must not be ignored.
We support women’s rights and equal rights for all, but as you know we are far from being an equal society. The government’s plans are a step in the wrong direction, and the Prime Minister should feel ashamed of this.
Best wishes, and thank you in advance for your support.