Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to the media, as heavy rain falls, outside 10 Downing Street in London Wednesday, May 22, 2024, as he announces that he is to call a General Election for July 4.
Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks to the media, as heavy rain falls, outside 10 Downing Street in London Wednesday, May 22, 2024, as he announces that he is to call a General Election for July 4.
Rishi Sunak will vow to change the law to protect women’s spaces such as toilets and changing rooms.
The Prime Minister is set to announce on Monday, UK time, that the Conservative manifesto will include a pledge to rewrite the Equality Act to make clear sex means “biological sex”.
This is to ensure that trans women — those who were born male — can be legally barred from places such as women’s prisons and sessions for domestic abuse victims, even if they have a gender recognition certificate.
The new legislation will also make it easier for organisations to prevent biological males from joining female sports teams, or from women’s single-sex wards in hospitals.
The proposals are an attempt to mark a clear dividing line with Labour, which the Tories say is weak on the gender issue.
The Prime Minister said on Sunday: “The safety of women and girls is too important to allow the current confusion around definitions of sex and gender to persist.
“The Conservatives believe that making this change in law will enhance protections in a way that respects the privacy and dignity of everyone in society.
“We are taking an evidence-led approach to this issue so we can continue to build a secure future for everyone across the whole country.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: "The safety of women and girls is too important." Photo / AP
‘Regulatory bodies are confused’
Kemi Badenoch, the Equalities Minister, said the plans would end the confusion over the law, which has allowed biological men access to spaces for women.
She said: “Whether it is rapists being housed in women’s prisons, or instances of men playing in women’s sports where they have an unfair advantage, it is clear that public authorities and regulatory bodies are confused about what the law says on sex and gender and when to act — often for fear of being accused of transphobia, or not being inclusive.
“That is why we are today pledging that, if we form a government after the election, we will clarify that sex in the law means biological sex and not new, redefined meanings of the word.
“The protection of women and girls’ spaces is too important to allow the confusion to continue.”
The announcement comes in the wake of fierce debate over how to protect women’s rights amid demands from activists over the treatment of trans people.
This came to the fore when in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon tried to pass a law that would have allowed any Scot aged 16 or older to change their legally recognised sex simply by signing a declaration. The plans were blocked by the UK government.
Transgender rapist Isla Bryson was initially sent to a women’s prison in Scotland after being jailed in February last year for raping two women, crimes that were committed while living as a man known as Adam Graham. Bryson was later moved to a men’s prison.
Law to clarify biological sex
Labour has been criticised for failing to stand up for women and several senior figures, including Sir Keir Starmer, have struggled to explain whether a woman can have a penis.
The party is also considering allowing a single family GP, rather than two, to sign off on a gender recognition certificate, which allows a person to legally change their gender.
The Tories plan to change the Equality Act to make it absolutely plain that when it talks about the protected characteristic of sex, this means biological sex — and not the gender someone identifies with.
It means even those who have a gender recognition certificate could be prevented from accessing single-sex spaces, even though the law sees them as legally the gender they identify with.
The new law will also make it clear that issues around gender can be legislated on by only the UK Parliament.
This would prevent the SNP repeating its attempt to bring in self-ID for trans people via a vote in the Scottish Parliament.
When the Equality Act was passed in 2010, it was assumed that it did allow organisations to insist spaces were only for biological women, because “sex” is one of the protected characteristics under the law.
But in the intervening 14 years, a growing trans movement has emerged that argued “sex” should not mean biological sex as originally conceived, but the gender someone identifies with.
Such a definition would mean it would be against the law to ban biological males from toilets and other single-sex spaces, if the person identified as a woman.
This ambiguity has left single-sex service providers vulnerable to challenge and legal action, which campaigners argue has ultimately put women and girls’ safety at risk.
New law important in sports
Sunak wants to change the law to make it explicit that “sex” in the legislation means “biological sex” and not an identified gender.
The Tories believe this would ensure single-sex spaces are maintained for women and girls, and that single-sex groups can freely associate without others of the opposite biological sex.
This would, for example, allow lesbian women to meet up and block entry to trans women — biological men — who consider themselves to be lesbians.
Writing for the Telegraph, Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, said the new law would also be of vital importance on the sporting field.
Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary, says "biological sex matters". Photo / Getty Images
“Biological sex matters,” she said. “This isn’t a culture war. This is something that many people care about it. It’s about protecting rights where they matter, like they do in sport.
“Transgender athletes, with all the advantages of male puberty, have an undeniable edge over women and girls.
“Adding clarity to the law will help those who run clubs and who are seeking to give women privacy and safety the support they need, whilst also providing facilities for others who need them.
“The integrity and safety of women’s sport will be guaranteed by this crystal-clear law change. We have spent decades fighting for equality and fairness. Let’s not stop now,” Frazer said.
Reacting to the Prime Minister’s announcement, Maya Forstater, of the group Sex Matters, said on Sunday: “The next government must move quickly to fix the law so that it works for women and girls. Polling shows that most people support genuinely single-sex provision, and fixing the Equality Act also features in Mumsnet’s election manifesto — in essence, the nation’s biggest doorstep.
“All parties should stop playing political football with women’s rights. Politicians should be in no doubt that women will hold those who fail to protect those rights to account. We are asking every party to stand up for single-sex services.”
Gender recognition ‘a reserved matter’
Last year Badenoch wrote to the Equality and Human Rights Commission seeking further guidance on how to protect same-sex spaces.
In reply, the commission said it would bring greater legal clarity for “sex” to be defined as biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act.
The new law will also make plain for the first time that gender recognition laws should be passed by only the UK Parliament, and not by devolved assemblies such as the Scottish Parliament.
“We are one United Kingdom and it has become apparent that it is impractical for gender recognition regimes to vary in different parts of the country,” a government spokesman said.
“Therefore, we will also establish in law that gender recognition is a reserved matter. This will mean that an individual can only have one sex in the eyes of the law in the United Kingdom.”
One of the consequences of the proposed change would be that Sturgeon’s gender self-ID law, which was blocked by the UK government, would automatically be sent for Royal Assent to become law.
This is because the arguments UK ministers relied upon in court to justify the veto, which centred around the UK-wide Equality Act, would no longer be valid.
However, to prevent the plans, and any similar future proposals, from becoming law, the Tories are proposing to amend the devolution settlement to reserve powers over gender to Westminster.
The plan to revoke powers from Holyrood will probably cause a major row with the SNP, which is likely to brand it an attack on devolution.
However, the Tories could see a row with the SNP over the gender bill as politically advantageous, given that the self-ID law is unpopular with voters.
