Equalities watchdog drops trans advice and urges ministers to act fast on new guidance
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Equalities watchdog drops trans advice and urges ministers to act fast on new guidance
"The equalities watchdog has withdrawn interim advice on how institutions should respond to the supreme court ruling on transgender rights, which some campaign groups said could effectively exclude trans people from many public spaces. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the advice, published in April, shortly after that month's supreme court ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex only, had been taken down from its website."
"Some Labour MPs joined transgender groups in expressing alarm at the EHRC's interim advice, which said the supreme court ruling meant transgender people should not be allowed to use toilets meant for the gender they live as, and that in some cases they could not use toilets consistent with their birth sex. This would, rights groups warned, in effect exclude transgender people from much of the public realm."
"The EHRC's announcement that the advice had been withdrawn came at the end of a wider statement in which the watchdog took the unusual step of publicly urging ministers to act at speed in approving the statutory guidance. In the statement, the EHRC said it had written to Bridget Phillipson, the equalities minister, pointing out it had sent the guidance six weeks ago, and warning that as things stood, there was no legally accurate advice available."
The Equality and Human Rights Commission withdrew interim advice issued after the Supreme Court ruled the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. The interim advice had instructed institutions that transgender people should not use toilets for the gender they live as and in some cases could not use toilets consistent with their birth sex. Rights groups warned that this approach would effectively exclude transgender people from much of the public realm. The Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights warned MPs about potential widespread exclusion. The Good Law Project is supporting legal challenges. The EHRC urged ministers to approve statutory guidance quickly and said no legally accurate advice was available in the meantime.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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