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The Conservative Party has announced that if it wins the general election it will change the Equality Act to protect “biological sex” and tighten rules on access to single-sex spaces.
Announcing the changes, 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”.
Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch said the current definition caused “confusion”, adding: “Whether it’s rapists being held in women’s prisons or examples of men having an unfair advantage in women’s sport, it’s clear that public authorities and regulators are confused about what the law says about sex and gender, and when they should act – often for fear of being accused of transphobia or not being inclusive enough.”
Under the current Equality Act, introduced by the Labour government in 2010, 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.
Here’s what the Conservatives’ proposed changes mean in practice.
prison
Under current regulations, transgender people are typically housed in prison populations that correspond to their acquired sex, as long as they hold a Gender Recognition Certificate and live in their declared gender.
Exceptions are granted on a case-by-case basis, for example if a person is deemed to pose a significant risk or is found to be at risk from a particular prisoner population.
This is because under the Equality Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against someone on the basis of their gender identity, including whether they are transgender.
The Conservative government’s proposed reforms would see transgender people held alongside people of their biological sex, but ministers argue this will prevent male-born inmates convicted of sex offences being placed in women-only prisons.
Statistics released by the Ministry of Justice showed that 268 transgender prisoners were recorded in 2023, up from 230 the previous year.
Of these, 203 identified as transgender women, 41 as transgender men, 14 as non-binary, and 10 either identified as a different gender or didn’t answer.
The majority of people who identify as transgender are held in prisons that correspond to their biological sex, with five transgender women in women’s prisons and zero transgender men in men’s prisons.
Women’s Sports
Currently, the Equality Act allows for the segregation of men and women when it comes to sporting activities, and sporting event organisers can exclude transgender people from taking part in “gender-sensitive activities” to ensure fairness and safety for other competitors.
When it comes to sports, the main issue is concern that male athletes have physical, testosterone and other advantages over their female counterparts, and as a result, many sports ban transgender women who have high testosterone levels or who have gone through masculine puberty.
The government claims the changes will make it easier to prevent transgender women from taking part in women’s sports, but it is unclear how they will work in practice.
Current Sport England guidance says that each sport should develop its own rules regarding the participation of transgender athletes, in line with the Equality Act.
The proposal suggested that sports organizations could choose to either allow transgender athletes to participate with testosterone restrictions, limit female categories to only athletes registered as female at birth, or create additional universal categories that are not sex- or gender-specific.
Toilets and changing rooms
Under the Equality Act, service providers can operate single-sex and single-gender services, such as toilets and changing rooms, if they have a good reason to do so.
You cannot discriminate against someone because of a protected sex characteristic or gender reassignment, but there are certain circumstances in which service providers can exclude transgender people if they can show they have a legitimate reason to do so.
An example would be if a leisure centre chooses not to allow a transgender woman into a family changing room due to privacy concerns – they would be required to justify why they feel they need to do so.
These rules currently only apply to people who have not changed their legal gender, but the party’s proposed new regulations could allow these rules to be waived in certain circumstances, with the sex assigned at birth taking precedence.
The change would also make it easier for service providers to justify policies that exclude transgender people based on their sex assigned at birth.
hospital
Current official NHS guidelines say that transgender people “should be treated according to their appearance, including the way they dress, and the name and pronouns they currently use”, regardless of whether they have legally changed their gender.
It is also recommended to provide privacy through curtains or place it in an adjacent room if this makes you more comfortable.
But Health Secretary Steve Barclay announced in April that the Conservative government plans to amend the NHS constitution to require hospitals to safeguard single-sex wards and encourage transgender people to have private rooms.
Under the party’s latest proposed changes, hospitals are likely to face new requirements to only consider biological sex when deciding which ward to admit patients to.
2024 Election
Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have been campaigning after the Chancellor announced on Wednesday 22 May that a general election would be held on 4 July. I‘s general election live blog is your go-to place for 2024 general election coverage.
The Conservatives announced proposed changes to gender law, as well as a national service policy, a “triple lock plus” for pensioners and a crackdown on illegal dumping.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party has said it is prepared to use nuclear weapons if necessary and to process asylum seekers overseas. Diane Abbott has been given permission by the party to stand in the constituency after her name dominated the headlines for a week.
Keep up to date on everything from Lib Dem manifesto promises and Nigel Farage’s mysterious election announcement, to TV debates and what Labour and Conservative tax promises mean for your money.