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The Conservatives would amend the Equality Act to protect “biological sex” rather than gender, in order to tighten rules for women-only spaces.
Under current equality laws, protections for single-sex spaces do not distinguish between people born female and transgender people.
But the Conservatives have promised to change existing laws so that protections apply specifically to biological sex.
In practice, this means that transgender women do not have the same gender-based protections as people born female.
The party said it would make it “easier for service providers serving women and girls to prevent biological males from attending”, such as domestic violence shelters.
This could prevent transgender women from participating in girls’ sports or using women’s restrooms.
The party said the Equality Act “has not kept up with changing interpretations and is not clear enough about when sex and gender are meant”.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission previously told Equalities Secretary Kemi Badenoch that defining sex in law as “biological sex” would provide greater legal clarity.
This means that transgender people, including those with a Gender Recognition Certificate, will effectively be treated as the gender they were assigned under the Equality Act.
The party said the changes to the law would not eliminate existing protections for transgender people.
However, the policy is likely to face opposition from organisations representing the transgender community.
The Conservatives also said they wanted to move gender recognition law from devolved states to central government.
The party said the changes would “mean that under UK law, individuals can only identify with one gender”.
This comes after the Westminster Government criticised the Scottish Government’s approach to transgender rights.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “The safety of women and girls is vital and we cannot allow the current confusion around the definitions of sex and gender to continue.”
He argues the changes “strengthen protections in a way that respects the privacy and dignity of everyone in society” and “take an evidence-based approach to this issue so that we can continue to build a safer future for everyone across our country.”
“Whether it’s rapists being held in women’s prisons or men having an unfair advantage in women’s sport, it’s clear that public authorities and regulators are confused about what the law is about sex and gender, and when they should act – often for fear of being accused of transphobia or not being inclusive,” Badenoch said.