Campaigners quietly confident single-sex spaces guidance not watered down

Campaigners who won a legal case in the UK’s highest court on the definition of a woman said they are “quietly confident” long-awaited guidance on single-sex spaces has not been watered down.

For Women Scotland (FWS), who celebrated a landmark legal victory a year ago, described their meeting with women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson on Wednesday as “positive”.

The campaigners pressed for detail on changes made to draft guidance and what date they expected it to be published ahead of parliamentary scrutiny.

The updated draft code of practice – aimed at guiding businesses and other organisations on provision of single and separate-sex services such as toilets and changing rooms – had been handed to ministers by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) last September.

Despite having been described by the watchdog’s chairwoman as “legally sound”, the Government gave “feedback” and it was confirmed this week that some changes have been made to the earlier version.

FWS director Susan Smith told the Press Association they had been “a little nervous” amid concerns about it having been toned down, but – while they were not given specifics of the changes that had been made – they understood this included adding more examples for service providers on how to implement the updated code.

She told PA: “I don’t think the guidance can be watered down in the sense that whatever the EHRC comes up with has to adhere closely to the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“So I think we can be pretty confident, quietly confident, that that will be alright. I think if the changes are around strengthening advice to duty bearers, that’s a positive, because businesses and service providers will be looking for examples that they can use day-to-day.”

The Supreme Court ruling on April 16 last year confirmed the terms woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.

While the ruling was hailed as a victory confirming “women are women and men are men”, some described it as “incredibly worrying for the trans community” amid fears about access to certain facilities including toilets.

Ms Smith said while she and fellow campaigners had not expected to still be awaiting the updated guidance a year on from the ruling, “we knew that there would be challenges and that there would be some people who would be still trying to fight this”.

She said: “That’s not going to go away anytime soon, but we will keep on going.”

Ms Smith described the tone of their meeting with Ms Phillipson as “very positive” and said they had been reassured that, despite no exact date being given, the guidance will be published next month.

She said: ”We have a reassurance that it is not open-ended and it will be laid at a date in May.”

A leaked draft of the guidance was reported in November as suggesting transgender people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on the way they look – prompting trans rights campaigners to call it “a licence to discriminate based on looks, plain and simple”.

But EHRC chairwoman Mary-Ann Stephenson said in December that she did not accept such a characterisation, indicating the guidance would give advice on ensuring “there are services provided for people who can’t or don’t want to use the services for their biological sex”.

She has also previously said no-one is expecting there to be “toilet police”, and suggested organisations with self-contained male and female toilets could make them unisex.

Confirming the slightly-amended draft had been submitted to Government this week, Ms Stephenson said: “Having considered this (Government) feedback alongside consultation responses and further legal analysis, we have made adjustments where they help the code provide legally accurate, practical guidance that is useful to duty bearers.”

LGBTQ+ organisation Stonewall said it was “pleased to see the Government and EHRC working constructively to ensure the code is legally accurate and supports service providers to treat everyone with equal dignity and respect”.

But Maya Forstater, chief executive of gender critical campaign group Sex Matters, accused the Government of having “found another excuse for delaying the guidance” by citing the upcoming election period.

Ms Phillipson, who has previously insisted the Government would not be rushed into publishing the guidance, said: “We are getting it right, showing leadership by implementing the clarity the Supreme Court ruling delivers.”

She said the legal ruling “brought clarity for women and service providers such as hospitals and refuges, and made clear that protections for trans people remain in the Equality Act”.

Trans+ Solidarity Alliance director Alex Parmar-Yee described the past 12 months as “a year of chaos and harm, with trans people excluded from everyday aspects of life that most people take for granted – basic facilities, social groups, and workplaces”.

She called on Labour to “protect trans people, defend inclusive organisations and respect human rights – or we will see yet more years of legal protections being undermined and trans people harmed”.

After ministerial approval, the code of practice would be put before Parliament for scrutiny from both MPs in the Commons and peers in the Lords.

It would not be enacted until 40 days after being laid in Parliament.

While a vote would not be required to enact the code and make it statutory, either House could pass a motion to reject it within that period.