The Conservatives have pledged to exclude trans people from single-sex spaces if they win the general election by rewriting the Equality Act to make sex mean ‘biological sex’. This is the first such election proposal the Tories have issued relating to equality and LGBTQ+ issues since the general election was for July 4. The party said reforming the law would clear up “confusion” for public bodies, businesses and institutions about female-only spaces and make it “simpler for service providers for women and girls, such as those running sessions for domestic abuse victims, to prevent biological males from taking part”.
A change in the law, which has previously been to from LGBTQ+ people and groups, could see trans women barred from entering single-sex spaces such as toilets, female prisons and hospital wards even if they have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). It is unclear how such changes would impact trans men who hold GRCs accessing male-only spaces, as it appears the Tories have conveniently forgotten they exist. Commenting on the proposal on Sunday evening (2 June), prime minister Rishi Sunak said the “safety of women and girls is too important to allow the current confusion around definitions of sex and gender to persist”.
He said the Tory party believe making the change “will enhance protections in a way that respects the privacy and dignity of everyone in society” because the party is “taking an evidence-led approach to this issue so we can co.