“Women-only” doesn’t mean single sex says Corporation of London

There are three swimming ponds on Hampstead Heath, managed by the Corporation of London: a mixed pond, a men’s pond and a women’s pond (the “Kenwood Ladies’ Pond”).

After the For Women Scotland judgment we wrote a legal letter to the corporation, asking it to bring its policies on how it manages the swimming ponds on Hampstead Heath into line with the Equality Act. 

It has written back denying that the women’s pond is a single-sex service at all. 

The Corporation of London’s “gender identity policy” allows trans-identifying men into the Ladies’ Pond. It wrongly states: 

“The Equality Act requires that people with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment are not discriminated against in the provision of single-sex services and are able to access services aligning with their gender identity.”

We asked it to withdraw this policy and issue a statement online confirming that it will now operate the Ladies’ Pond lawfully as a single-sex service for women only, and to put up signage to make this clear.

Instead it says that it is going to undertake a review and information-gathering exercise, and in the meantime will put up signs to say that “transgender women” (that is, men, as has been clarified by the Supreme Court) are welcome to use the women’s ponds, changing rooms and showers. 

We have heard appalling stories from women, including one who found herself being watched in the shower by a man in an overcoat and wig. The corporation’s response was to note that: 

“Some of the alleged violations of which you complain appear to be premised on your assertion that it is not sufficiently well-known by the users of the Swimming Ponds that the Corporation currently permits the admission of trans women to the Ladies’ Pond.”

It then adds: 

“However, in order to ensure that there is no confusion, the Corporation will place a notice explaining that under the current access arrangements trans women continue to be welcome to use the facilities at the Ladies’ Pond, pending the outcome of the Corporation’s review of its access arrangements.”

The Corporation of London thinks it has a Get out of jail free card

The Corporation of London is trying out an extraordinary manoeuvre. 

It argues that although the Supreme Court has made it clear that references to “women” in the Equality Act 2010 are references to biological sex, “it went no further than that”. 

It says that we have confused the definition of sex in the Equality Act with the use of the terms “women” and “men” on the Corporation’s notices and in its policies. It says these do not refer to the ordinary meaning of women and men in biology and law but “must be read in light of the access arrangements in place at the Ladies’ Pond, pursuant to which both trans women and biological women have been permitted to access the Ladies’ Pond and have done so now for many years”.

It claims that “the Ladies’ Pond is not a single sex facility… precisely because trans women are permitted to access the swimming facilities”.

It argues that it therefore does not need to rely on the single-sex and separate-sex exceptions in the Equality Act in order to provide a lawful single-sex service because when it says “men” and “women” it is not referring to sex at all:

“The Corporation is expressly not seeking to rely on the exceptions under paragraphs 26 – 28 of Schedule 3 EqA because the Corporation recognises, following the Supreme Court’s ruling, that it is not providing single-sex facilities as defined within the EqA.”

It has also called into question our standing to bring a claim, as Sex Matters is not an individual who has been discriminated against. (In fact, it is common for charities to bring claims for judicial review.) 

Keep men out of the Ladies’ Pond!

We will need to lodge a claim in August, and are preparing witness statements and grounds with our lawyers. 

We need to raise £50,000 for the next stage of this case: Please donate to our crowdfunder:

If you are someone who uses the ponds on Hampstead Heath (or if you would use them but have been put off by this policy) please email us at [email protected]