Respond to the EHRC consultation

Read our analysis of the problems with the draft guidance.

The consultation is open for anyone to respond to, whether you respond as an individual or as an organisation.

• Individuals can include people who give advice, lawyers, academics, campaigners and ordinary citizens wishing to challenge service providers. 
• Organisations can include service providers, associations and public bodies and organisations that give advice to others. 

You should respond particularly if you are a service provider – a business, charity or public body that provides services to the public – or if you are an individual who uses services (everyone!) or an advisor. 

It will take you about 15 minutes to complete the survey. 

Dos and don’ts

• Do give short examples from your own experience.
• Do use clear sex-based language and ask that the code of practice does.
• Don’t answer with how you think the law should be changed.
• Don’t answer about employment (that is a different code of practice).

Initial questions

First is a series of questions: 

 Individuals are asked:

• Where do you access services? (England/Scotland/Wales/other)
• Do you consider yourself to be a legal professional? (yes/no)
• Which of the protected characteristics are relevant to your response? (multiple choice)
• Have you used this Code of Practice in the past? (yes/no)
• Why haven’t you used the Code of Practice in the past? (multiple choice)
• What have you used the Code of Practice for in the past? (multiple choice)
• Will you use the updated Code of Practice in the future? (yes/no)
• What would make you more likely to use the Code of Practice? (multiple choice)
• What will you use the Code of Practice for in the future? (multiple choice)

Organisations are asked:

• What kind of organisation are you responding on behalf of? (public/private/voluntary) 
• Does your organisation provide services? (yes/no)
• Where does your organisation provide services? (England/Scotland/Wales/other)
• Where is your organisation based? (England/Scotland/Wales/other)
• Which of the protected characteristics are relevant to your response?
• Have you used this Code of Practice in the past? (yes/no)
• Why haven’t you used the Code of Practice in the past? (multiple choice)
• What have you used the Code of Practice for in the past? (multiple choice)
• Will you use the updated Code of Practice in the future? (yes/no)
• What would make you more likely to use the Code of Practice? (multiple choice)
• What will you use the Code of Practice for in the future? (multiple choice)
• Will your organisation make any changes as a result of the updates to the Code of Practice? (yes/no)
• What changes might your organisation make as a result of the updates to the Code of Practice? (free text)

Chapter questions

This part of the survey asks questions about specific chapters in the code of practice. You do not need to provide feedback for every chapter, only those that you think are relevant to you. We suggest answering questions on chapter 2 (definitions), chapter 8 (harassment) and chapter 13 (exceptions).

The code does not impose legal obligations, but it aims to reflect the law and can be used in evidence in legal proceedings. Do not comment on how you think the law should be changed – only on whether the guidance is clear in explaining legal rights and responsibilities. 

 For each chapter you are asked :

• Would you like to provide feedback on this chapter? (yes/no)
• Do you agree/disagree that it explains legal rights and responsibilities clearly? (strongly agree/agree/disagree/strongly disagree)
• Is there anything you would change to make the explanation of the legal rights and responsibilities clearer? (free text: 250 words)
• In your view, does this chapter include all relevant changes to the law in this area? (all of the changes/most of the changes/some of the changes/don’t know) 
• What changes do you think are relevant that haven’t been included? (free text) 
• Do you have any other feedback about the content of the Code of Practice that you haven’t already mentioned? (free text) Please include references to paragraph numbers where relevant.

Suggestions for chapter 2

Under the section ‘Is there anything you would change to make the explanation of the legal rights and responsibilities clearer?’:

1. Write here that the guidance is not clear enough about the protected characteristic of sex.
2. Explain why clarity about the protected characteristic of sex is particularly important to you in your organisation or as an individual.

You may want to make the points that the guidance should:

• provide clarity about the protected characteristic of sex in this chapter (not wait till chapter 13) and be clear about it throughout the code of practice
• avoid calling men “women” and women “men” as this is confusing
• provide clarity that the protected characteristic of “gender reassignment” does not change a person’s sex
• provide a positive example of gender-critical belief.

Suggestions for chapter 8

Under the section ‘Is there anything you would change to make the explanation of the legal rights and responsibilities clearer?’:

1. Write that the guidance should make clear that referring to someone by their sex (which a trans-identifying person may interpret as “misgendering”) is not necessarily harassment.
2. Write that the guidance should make clear that a person wrongly gaining access to a space provided for the privacy and dignity of the opposite sex is likely to be harassment related to sex.
3. Explain why it is particularly important to you in your organisation or as an individual to have more clarity about sex-based harassment relating to bodily privacy and single-sex services, and about whether referring to someone accurately by their sex is harassment. 

Suggestions for chapter 13

Under the section ‘Is there anything you would change to make the explanation of the legal rights and responsibilities clearer?’:

1. If you play or organise sports, write about why it is important to have clarity that female-only sports do not have to consider including men on a case-by-case basis.
2. If you use or provide single-sex or separate-sex services, write about why it is important to have clarity that female-only spaces and services do not have to consider including men on a case-by-case basis.
3. If you are involved in a single-sex organisation or charity, explain why it is important to have an example of a single-sex association.

The deadline for responses Friday 3rd January, and the survey takes about 15 minutes to complete.