Rishi Sunak, who arrived in Moldova on Thursday for the European Political Community summit, says he considers biological sex to be «fundamentally important.» No. 39; Photo: Vadim Girda/AP
Rishi Sunak said he would change the law to protect same-sex spaces for women, saying that biological sex is «fundamentally important.»
The Prime Minister said his government is considering the recommendations of the equality watchdog and is ready to do whatever it takes to ban transgender people from women's locker rooms and from participating in sporting events.
There is concern that current legislation vaguely an issue and may allow trans women to enter women-only spaces even if they are biologically male.
His intervention comes just days before MPs debate calling for clarity in the 2010 Equality Act on the matter. More than 100,000 people have signed a petition demanding reforms.
Campaigners want the law to be rewritten to make it clear that when it says that people cannot be discriminated against on the basis of sex, it means biological gender, not the gender one identifies.
But some conservative supporters are concerned that the government has cooled off on the idea of changing the law, which could dominate debate ahead of the next election.
Biological floor «fundamental»
Speaking on the way to Washington where he met with President Prime Minister Joe Biden said he would consider the proposed legal changes.
“I made it very clear that when it comes to such matters, biological sex has fundamental importance,” he said.
“I have said this several times and in relation to the Equality Law, in particular, the government has specifically asked for advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on this particular issue, and then obviously we will look into it.
“This is something I have spoken about in the past as being important to me and we have approached the Equality and Human Rights Commission for advice on this particular issue.”
This happened after the Minister Education Gillan Keegan said she is looking into new rules for protecting segregated toilets in schools, as well as a new guide to pronouns.
Speaking to reporters at the Tory Northern Research Group conference in Doncaster, she said: “This is definitely something we're looking at. So that's going to be a big part of the [gender] leadership. And it will be for a consultation before the summer holidays. It covers it in a way that we take same-sex spaces very seriously.”
She said the guide will also cover the use of pronouns in schools.
She added. that a separate review of sex and relationships education will address the need for tougher rules to prevent teachers from presenting contested views as fact.
During the Tory campaign last year, Mr Sunak said he wanted to ensure the facts of biology are written in the Law.
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He said: “I think biology is critically important as we think of some very practical functions like toilets or sport.
The EHRC board, published in April, concluded that this would be better in most cases. to change the word «sex» in the 2010 law to «biological sex.»
He recommended that such a change «bring legal clarity» to eight areas, including sports and same-sex areas.
At the time, a Downing Street source said he had asked Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Equality, to move the work forward.
«The prime minister remains true to his campaign promise,» the source said. «It's a delicate and complex issue, but the Secretary of State is pushing and supporting this work.»
But no proposals have come forward yet. The stumbling block is the fear that MPs may try to amend any laws, giving groups such as menopausal women the right to claim discrimination.
And since the EHRC's advice was made public, the organization's activists have been accused of trying to oust chairman Kishver Faulkner in the framework of the «witch hunt», although the «coup» failed.
On Friday it became known that the new guidance of the NHS Confederation says that patients can be found guilty of discrimination if they refuse the care of a transgender medical doctor.
The document warns that patients do not have the right to know the gender assigned health worker at birth. However, transgender healthcare workers may refuse to treat patients if they feel uncomfortable doing so.
The issue of safe spaces for women will be discussed at Westminster Hall on Monday after more than 100,000 people signed a petition in favor of changing the law.
The Sex Matters group says the change will be «the right way to bring clarity into the law and protect everyone,” including transgender people.
The group says that in most situations covered by the Act, everyone should be treated equally, including people who identify as transgender.
But it does indicate that the legislation includes specific provisions allowing only single-sex spaces, including in schools and colleges, services and charities, and work that can only be done by women or men.
A spokesman for Sex Matters said: «The question for debate is whether the law should be made clearer to establish beyond doubt that the Gender Recognition Certificate does not redefine the categories of 'male' and 'female' in the Equality Act. Act or change the gender of a person due to gender discrimination.
“This makes it clear that having a certificate does not entitle men to participate in women's sports, or to undress or shower with women and girls, or to work at work that involves intimate contact with women (for example, when a teacher, doctor, nurse, police officer or prison guard conducts private searches or searches).
“The survey shows that less than a third of people believe that trans-inclusion should include going beyond these boundaries.
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