Guidance around single-sex sites has cited examples where it is legal to exclude a male-born woman from female services, including rape counseling services, shelters, and fitness classes. According to the Committee on Equality and Human Rights (EHRC), legitimate reasons for excluding trans people from same-sex services include the privacy and dignity of users. The long-awaited guidance on the impact of the equality law was welcomed by groups of women’s rights campaigns, including Sex Matters, who described it as a “positive” and “welcome” step. “It recognizes that people who want sex services for reasons of privacy, dignity, safety or trauma have legitimate needs,” the group said. “He does not call them fanatical or transphobic, nor does he accuse them of ignorance or fanaticism.” The guide, published Monday, tells service providers that they can restrict a service based on one’s gender only if “it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate goal.” They clarify that this “could be for reasons of privacy, decency, injury prevention or to ensure health and safety”. Clarifying the law that has become a battleground in recent years, the EHRC notes that “there are cases where a legally established separate or gender service provider may exclude, modify or restrict access to its service for trans people.” Examples of one-sex services include wards in hospitals and nursing homes where “users need special care, supervision or attention” or separate locker rooms for men and women where “a woman can reasonably object to the presence of a man”.
“Trauma and safety”
Examples where one-sex services can be provided are group counseling sessions for women victims of sexual assault, where victims are judged to be “likely to be injured in the presence of a person who is biologically male”. Trans women could also be excluded from a domestic abuse shelter that offers emergency accommodation to female survivors if they “feel uncomfortable sharing accommodation… for trauma and safety reasons”. The provider should compile a list of alternative sources of support, it is suggested. If a gym has sex locker rooms and “there are concerns about the safety and dignity of trans men changing in the open”, the gym could exclude trans people from single sex venues if it “decides to introduce an additional neutral sex. locker rooms with autonomous units “. Leisure centers will be able to exclude trans women from fitness classes for women only because of the amount of physical contact involved, she says. The EHRC also cites an example of a community center with male and female toilets whose users say they would note “that 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 their religious beliefs “. The guidance adds: “Decides to introduce an additional gender-neutral toilet. “It puts up signs that tell all users that they can either use the toilet for their biological sex or use the neutral sex toilet if they feel more comfortable doing so.”
Balance the needs of all users
The EHRC adds that you can only provide a service to one sex if sharing it “would not be effective enough”. An example given is “if women of a particular religion or belief do not use the local pool at the same time as men, swimming sessions for women as well as mostly mixed sessions could be provided.” The guidance is valid regardless of whether or not the person has a Gender Identity Certificate proving that he or she has legally changed gender, the guide states. However, service providers warn that they need to balance the needs of all users. Excluding a trans person from this service may be illegal if it cannot be proven to be “a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate goal,” says the EHRC. Both gender reassignment and gender reassignment are features protected by the 2010 Equality Act, which protects people from harassment and discrimination.
