The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s transgender guidance has been dubbed a “misogynist’s charter” after reports that trans people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on what they look like.
The document was sent to ministers almost three months ago but is yet to be published, with the government facing pressure to explain the delays.
But a minister on Thursday said it will take time to get “right” and avoid a situation where “toilets are being policed by people”.
According to The Times, which has seen a leaked copy of the document, the EHRC’s guidance suggests transgender people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on what they look like.
Under the new guidance, places such as hospital wards, gyms and leisure centres will reportedly be able to question transgender women over whether they should be using single-sex services based on how they look, their behaviour or concerns raised by others.
The code of practice was updated in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on biological sex in April, which ruled trans women are not legally women under the Equalities Act.
It was shared with women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson, Mr MacAlister’s boss at the Department for Education, on 4 September.
Responding to the reports, Trans+ Solidarity Alliance founder Jude Guaitamacchi said: “These leaks reveal that not only does the EHRC’s proposed code of practice seek to require trans exclusion, it instructs service providers to police this based on appearance and gender stereotypes.”
“This is a misogynist’s charter, plain and simple, and the government must reject it”, they added.
Meanwhile, campaign group TransActual said the reported guidance was “a license to discriminate based on looks”.
A spokesperson for the organisation said: “Astonishingly, the UK’s ‘human rights watchdog’ is attempting to mandate that staff at cinemas, hospitals, bars and cafes must try and judge whether users are trans or not based on appearance alone. This is a license to discriminate based on looks, plain and simple.
“We’ve seen this before – people trying to make our society into a place that is only safe for ‘normal’ ladies. Not just loos. But sports centres, changing rooms and more.”
They added: “We offer our solidarity to the many cis women who have been targeted and harassed for their appearance by ‘gender critical activists’ who believed they were trans, and who would be put even further at risk by these rules.”
Children’s minister Josh MacAlister acknowledged “the problem isn’t going to go away” as the government continues to assess guidance produced by the equalities watchdog.
He toldTimes Radio: “These are massive issues and I think that the public now looking at the draft guidance from the EHRC will recognise that when you drill down into examples of how this might be applied, it has big implications for individuals, it has big implications for businesses and public services.”
Meanwhile, education secretary Bridget Phillipson said she would go through the guidance “thoroughly and carefully”.
“I have responsibilities to make sure that’s done properly and we’re taking the time to get this right.
“This is an important area and we want to make sure that women have access to a single-sex provision – that’s incredibly important for domestic violence services, rape crisis centres, so that women are able to heal from the trauma they’ve experienced. But of course, trans people should be treated with dignity and respect”, she added.
Mr MacAlister denied the government was refusing to publish the guidance because it hoped the problem would go away.
“It would be really bad politics, wouldn’t it, because the problem isn’t going to go away,” he said.
“These are live issues and the reason why there’s a big political debate about this is because it’s a really hard issue to resolve between lots of different, competing views.”
He added: “I just ask people to imagine small corridors where you’ve got a set-up around toilets that’s pretty restricted and you’ve got – whether it’s a restaurant or a school or a gym – not that much space to play with.
“The guidance, as it’s written, has implications for both how physical buildings are set up, but also how staff in those settings would need to determine and judge even whether somebody might look like a woman.
“And so we want to avoid being in a position where toilets are being policed by people.”
Defending the delay in publishing the guidance, he said: “Three months is very little time in the grand scheme of things.
“So, we’re doing this as fast as we can and there’s no deadline that we’re putting on it. We want to get it right, and if we don’t get it right it does risk putting this back into the courts and providing even greater uncertainty for people. So, we’re going to take our time to get it right.”
It came as the prime minister’s official spokesperson said everyone “should be treated with dignity and respect”, but insisted that the government would not rush the process.
Asked about reports that trans people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on what they look like, the spokesperson told reporters: “The code of practice is 300 pages long. It’s detailed it’s not a straightforward and simple issue. I’m not going to comment on a leaked version while we consider that process.”
He added: “I think you’d be hard pressed to find people across the country who don’t think fellow human beings should be treated with dignity and respect in the eyes of the law.
“On the substantive point, we’ve been clear that the supreme court ruling has brought clarity.”
Asked whether the government plans to expedite publication of the report, the PM’s spokesperson said: “It’s a matter of fact that the proposed code is 300 pages long. We want guidance in place as soon as possible but we wont rush this given the implications for people.”
