The Prime Minister has been told to intervene now to legislate for trans equality, or accept responsibility for the consequences.
TransActual, Trans+ Solidarity Alliance and Scottish Trans – three of the UK’s leading trans advocacy organisations – have warned Keir Starmer that the new Code of Practice is unworkable: it does not protect trans people’s ability to participate fully in society, it does not support organisations that wish to remain inclusive, and it does not comply with the UK’s domestic and international human rights obligations.
Many MPs have already spoken out about the unjust and unworkable situation the code would create, and more than a 130 have signed an Early Day Motion that seeks to disapprove the Code.
Despite repeated warnings that failing to defend trans people’s fundamental rights and protections would negatively impact the ability of trans people to participate in public life, the Prime Minister has not yet taken action.
The government’s own Equality Impact assessment outlines the consequences of this starkly, warning of discrimination, physical danger, and limiting trans people’s access to vital services. Beyond just our trans communities, the assessment warns of the dangers of appearance-based gender policing on the safety of the public at large.
Helen Belcher, Managing Director of TransActual, said: “Labour’s bathroom ban is an affront to the spirit and intent of the Equality Act. It has turned decades-old settled policy on how trans people should be treated into a mess of contradictory, harmful and incoherent rules. It is past time for the Prime Minister to intervene.”
Alexandra Parmar-Yee, Director of Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, said: “We have been very clear that allowing this situation to continue is a political choice, and that the government must now take responsibility and legislate to fix our broken framework for trans equality”
Vic Valentine, Scottish Trans Manager at Equality Network, said: “If all services ran how this Code says they should, it would cause untold harm to trans people across Britain. Rather than letting that come to pass, the Prime Minister should act now to prevent it – whether that means changing the Code, or changing the law.”