The UK government is reportedly considering amending the legal definition of “sex” to “biological sex”, which could potentially bar trans women from female-only spaces.
UK laws could soon bar trans women from ‘female-only’ spaces
As reported by Sky News, Equalities Minister, Kemi Badenoch, wrote to the parliament’s human rights watchdog in February 2023, asking for advice on changing the wording from “sex” to “biological sex”, describing it as a “technical and contested area of law”.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) responded by stating that amending the definition of sex could result in greater legal clarity around women-only spaces, hospitals, and access to sports.
However, the proposal has sparked anger from the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, which believes it could lead to the opening of another chapter in a manufactured culture war that will benefit neither cis nor trans women.
Currently, a trans person in possession of a gender recognition certificate (GRC) is legally recognised as belonging to the opposite sex.
However, Ms Badenoch argues that the Scottish government’s decision to pass controversial gender reforms has led to questions about the operation of the Equality Act and whether the definition of sex is sufficiently clear and strikes the appropriate balance of interests between different protected characteristics.
The EHRC suggested that a biological definition of sex could bring greater legal clarity to eight areas, including hospitals, where it would make it simpler to make a women-only ward space for biological women, and sports, where organizers could exclude trans women from women’s sports without showing it was necessary to do so in the interests of fairness or safety.
Changing to a biological definition would also mean single-sex groups could restrict membership to biological women or men, giving the example of lesbian groups or women’s-only book clubs, which could then exclude trans people.
However, Baroness Kishwer Falkner, the chairwoman of the EHRC, suggested that there should be “due regard to any possible disadvantages for trans men and trans women” and that the government should “consider the potential implications of this change” and undertake detailed policy and legal analysis if it decides to move forward.
The proposed change in the definition of “sex” from just “sex” to “biological sex” in the Equality Act could potentially lead to a ban on trans women from female-only spaces.
While the EHRC suggests that it could bring greater legal clarity to eight areas, the proposal has sparked outrage from the LGBTQ+ community, including Stonewall, which believes it could lead to a manufactured culture war.
Further discussions are needed to consider the potential implications of such a change and any possible disadvantages.
