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NOT A PHASE’S RESPONSE TO THE EHRC’S CODE OF PRACTICE, WHICH THIS WEEK PASSED ITS PARLIAMENTARY STAGE (MEANING IT WILL NOT BE DEBATED OR VOTED ON).
On the 21st May, EHRC guidance was laid before parliement. It aimed to limit the access trans+ people have to gendered spaces. After a 40-day period, these guidelines passed parliamentary stage. The Equalities Minister has ruled that this code will come into force, commencing the 5th of August. As a trans+ charity pioneering trans+ inclusive fitness spaces, it is our duty to continue to advocate for our community’s access and inclusion within the world of fitness and in everyday public life.
Banning trans+ people from gendered spaces should never be the solution.
Last week, guidance from the Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) passed its parliamentary stage. This outcome was widely deemed regressive towards our community, with potentially harmful and discriminatory outcomes for trans+ & intersex people. This was despite 20,000 emails to MP’s from our community and allies across the UK, which resulted in 166 MP’s also signing a motion to stop it. Since last year’s Supreme Court ruling on the trans+ exclusionary redefinition of the terms ‘man’, ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ for purposes of the
Equality Act, discourse has been shaped by concerns around women’s safety, despite data showing that women are most unsafe in their own homes, with no sufficient data showing risk of harm in gendered spaces. Due to this data, we do not see how this outcome can improve women’s safety. We stand with our community, and we condemn this outcome.
Trans+ inclusive spaces are non-negotiable to Not A Phase.
As a charity that provides free fitness, wellness, and self-defence classes for trans+ adults across the UK, we will continue to ensure our chosen spaces for Misfits classes are accessible & inclusive towards our community. The recent EHRC updates have resulted in us cutting some pre-existing ties with locations formerly utilised for the purposes of our Misfits classes. This was on the basis of these locations being unable to guarantee the standard comfort & inclusion our community deserves when accessing their spaces.
The wellbeing & inclusion of our Service Users is paramount to us. We are diligently checking the policies & inclusive approach of all Misfits locations to ensure the experience of our Service Users will not be impacted simply due to them being trans+ and attending a fitness class in the wake of this EHRC update. We are taking time to ensure any public guidance we share for venues to refer to is thorough, fair, and compliant without compromising on the standards & values upheld by Not A Phase.
Please also remember:
• The code is important, but it does not imminently change the law.
• There is no criminal law prohibiting trans+ people from gendered spaces.
• There are no laws allowing harassment in bathrooms.
• Gender reassignment is still considered to be a protected characteristic, meaning trans+ people are legally protected from harm in all settings.
• Venues are not obligated legally to become gender police.
• Venues are not obligated legally to have gendered spaces (such as gendered bathrooms). Going fully gender neutral is an option.
