Guidance from the Committee on Equality and Human Rights says that the justification could be for reasons of privacy, decency, injury prevention or to ensure health and safety. The body also advises that holders of gender identity certificates may be excluded from a separate area or area of a gender, provided that this is “an appropriate means of achieving a legitimate aim”. Following a heated debate over whether trans women should have automatic access to single-sex spaces such as shelters, toilets, prisons and locker rooms. More recently, there has been a debate about the participation of trans women in women’s sports. The guidance, posted Monday, is intended to be a practical guide to help organizations such as hospitals, retail stores, hospitality and sports clubs implement policies that are legitimate and balance the needs of different groups. According to the EHRC: “[The guidance] advises organizations such as hospitals, retail stores, hospitality and sports clubs to implement policies that are both legal and to balance the needs of different teams. The guidance confirms that service providers wishing to restrict services to a single sex are legally able to do so, provided the reasons are justified and proportionate. “ The EHRC says that “there are cases where a legally established separate or gender service provider may block, modify or restrict access to its service for trans people”. The guidance, which applies to England, Scotland and Wales, advises single-sex service providers to “take into account your approach to the use of the service by trans people”, the nature of the service and the reason for which a separate service or service of a sex is required. “You then have to show that your action is a proportionate way to achieve this goal,” says the guide. A spokesman for the LGBT + rights group Stonewall said the guidance appeared to undermine the 2010 equality law and justify the exclusion of trans women. “Instead of specifying how gender exemptions should be used in the Equality Act, the recent uninstitutional guidance of the EHRC is likely to create more confusion. It seems to contradict the basic premise of the act, which is that inclusion should be the starting point and focuses on the reasons why trans people, and in particular trans women, can be excluded. “The examples seem to encourage general bans, rather than decision-making on a case-by-case basis, and cover restricting access to daily settings, such as baths and fitness classes, which is great. “This leaves more, not less confusion and more, not less, risk of illegal discrimination,” the spokesman said. Examples of one-sex services and legitimate excuses provided in guidance include hospital and nursing home wards where “users need special care, supervision or attention” or separate men’s and women’s locker rooms where “a woman can reasonably oppose the presence of a man”. Group counseling sessions for women victims of sexual assault where it is believed that victims are “likely to be injured by the presence of a person who is biologically male” are also offered as legal use of a space for sex. Trans women could also be excluded from a domestic abuse shelter that offers emergency accommodation if residents ‘feel uncomfortable sharing accommodation… for trauma and safety reasons’. The provider should compile a list of alternative sources of support, it is suggested. Leisure centers should be able to exclude trans women from fitness classes for women only, the guidance says. The EHRC also cites an example of a community center with male and female toilets whose users say they “would not use the center if the toilets were open to members of the opposite sex, for reasons of privacy and dignity or because of religious beliefs.” The guidance was valid regardless of whether the individual had a gender identity certificate to prove they had legally changed sex, the equality monitoring service said. “[Service providers] they do not need personal information such as a gender identity certificate to make a decision. “You just have to decide if your action is a proportionate means to an end.” Kishwer Falkner, President of the EHRC, stated: “Our mission at the EHRC is to protect the rights of all and to ensure that people across the UK are treated fairly. There is no room for discrimination against anyone on the grounds of sex or gender reassignment. “When rights between groups compete, our job as an independent regulator is to help service providers and others balance the needs of different users in accordance with the law. “Organizations are allowed to limit services to a single gender in certain cases. But they need help navigating this sensitive area. That’s why we published this guidance – to clarify the law and to defend the rights of all. “
