Equality boss expects people to ‘follow rules’ over single-sex spaces
The new head of the equality watchdog has told the BBC that everyone must “follow the rules” when guidance on single-sex spaces is published.
Chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Dr. Mary-Ann Stephenson said that “things can be resolved if there is good will and recognition that everyone has rights” and that “nobody expected there to be a toilet police officer”.
The guide for businesses and services was prepared some time later. The unanimous decision of the Supreme Court in April Legally, a woman must be identified by biological sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.
The BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg, to be broadcast on Sunday, includes Dr. It will be Stephenson’s first interview in his new role.
The EHRC’s guidance was communicated to the government three months ago but has not yet been officially published; This will give legal force to the codes of practice.
It aims to advise businesses and services, such as women’s shelters, gyms, hospitals or shopping centres, on how the Supreme Court decision should work.
The 300-page document, seen by the BBC after being leaked, states that single-sex spaces should only be open to people of the same biological sex, otherwise they will cease to be single-sex spaces.
This means, for example, that a transgender woman who is a biological male who identifies as female cannot use women’s restrooms and locker rooms.
The guidance says it may be legitimate for businesses or services to ask people to confirm by “proportionate means” that they are of the appropriate gender.
All of this has caused controversy and anger among some transgender campaigners.
Dr Stephenson told the BBC: “Nobody expects there to be toilet police there.
“But equally if there are situations where there are complaints about regular issues then people may need to improve signage, improve descriptions or make sure they have alternative services.”
He said he expects both service providers and people who use those services to “follow the rules.”
Dr Stephenson was asked about what facilities transgender people should use if there are no alternatives, or what businesses should do if they don’t have the space or resources to make extra preparations.
He said: “There is often a unisex provision and, as I said, we need to think more broadly about how we make sure those opportunities are available…
“You know, if you have two self-contained rooms, one labeled male and one labeled female, then the logical thing for a service provider to do under the circumstances is to make them both unisex.”
Dr Stephenson was appointed to the role in July and started earlier this month.
This was met with hostility from some trans campaigners, partly because lawyer Allison Bailey donated money to her cause. who won part of the court claim She said she was discriminated against because of her views critical of her gender.
In our interview, Dr. Stephenson was adamant that he could still be objective in evaluating trans issues.
She said she donated to the cause because she was frustrated by situations where “women are being harassed and losing their jobs because of legally accepted beliefs.”
She said she was concerned about the experiences some women had “trying to hold meetings to discuss proposed changes to the law.”
“I actually thought that in a democracy, if changes to the law were being proposed, it was important for people to be able to come together and discuss those changes without being subjected to violence or intimidation,” he said.
“If this is taking a side, it’s taking the side of democratic norms and open debate and dialogue.”
The full interview will be with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday.
