EHRC : Interim guidance on single-sex spaced given by Equality watchdog

New interim guidance has been given by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission ( EHRC ) on how to interpret the recent UK Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman.

The court ruled the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equalities Act 2010 refers to biological sex, with the judges adding the Scottish Government was “incorrect” in its guidance which suggested that trans women could be classed as woman for certain legislation.

Now the EHRC has provided interim guidance for places like hospitals, shops and restaurants stating that trans people should use the facilities that match with their “biological sex” even if they have a Gender Recognition Certificate.

The guidance states: “In workplaces and services that are open to the public...trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men’s facilities, as this will mean that they are no longer single-sex facilities and must be open to all users of the opposite sex .

“However where facilities are available to both men and women, trans people should not be put in a position where there are no facilities for them to use.”

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For schools in particular, the guidance specifies: “ "Pupils who identify as trans girls (biological boys) should not be permitted to use the girls' toilet or changing facilities, and pupils who identify as trans boys (biological girls) should not be permitted to use the boys' toilet or changing facilities. Suitable alternative provisions may be required."

They added: “We aim to provide the updated Code of Practice to the UK Government by the end of June for ministerial approval.”