The reports from VICE news this afternoon, outlining the draft guidance on single-sex spaces the EHRC is considering, are incredibly alarming,
For the EHRC to even think that it’s in any way acceptable to consider removing basic human rights of dignity and safety from a marginalised group shows they have completely lost the plot.
They are no longer fit to be called an equalities organisation. Trans and non-binary people will rightly now consider the organisation to be a hate group.
What they are considering is unlawful and completely impractical. It would make living as a trans person almost impossible. People need to ask how would such a ban on trans people work in practice, as it would inevitably negatively impact every woman and girl in the land and would disproportionately impact Black women and girls and women and girls of colour. We know that women’s bodies are policed at a higher level when they don’t conform to white-centric beauty standards.
When North Carolina implemented such a ban in 2016, they had to reverse it within a year, because the impact on their economy was enormous. Businesses walked. People may think the UK would be immune to this, but much of the rest of the world is moving towards better trans integration, not worse.
It’s time for Baroness Falkner to resign, along with her fellow Commissioners, and for the EHRC to be reset on its proper focus for human rights for all.