Schools and safeguarding
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Attorney-general clarifies the law for schools
In an interview with The Times, Suella Braverman said schools should treat children according to their sex, not their self-identified gender. Sex Matters welcomes Braverman’s comments, which align with Sex Matters’ guidance. The Department for Education is currently drawing up new guidance for schools. Suella Braverman said: Under-18s cannot get...
27th May 2022
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Is Scotland going to turn the UK into an identity-laundering haven?
As part of Sex Matters’ response to the Scottish Parliament consultation on GRA reform we raised security concerns. This has been reported in the Telegraph and the Times, and Maya Forstater had a Thunderer piece in the Times. Identity matters The involvement of the state with an individual’s identity...
18th May 2022
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What is behind the campaign to ban conversion therapy?
The campaign to ban “conversion therapy” has come out of nowhere, to suddenly dominate the priorities of organisations such as Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence, Mermaids, GIRES and the LGBT Foundation. There have been protests and petitions, and these groups pulled out of a planned international conference on human rights when...
4th May 2022
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Why ban talking therapy?
How a campaign to criminalise the most effective treatment for gender-distressed children made it from the margins to the mainstream: we look at the history of conversion therapy.
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Send our new guidance to a school you know
Schools are calling out for clear guidance on sex and gender to answer questions such as what should they do when they face demands to socially transition children or to keep the secrets of a child who identifies as trans.
25th April 2022
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Sex and gender identity: keep your pupils safe and comply with the law – guidance for schools in England
This revision of our May 2021 guidance, produced together with Transgender Trend, draws on the interim report of the Cass Review, recent legal cases on freedom of belief, the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s new guidance on single-sex services, and a survey of teachers done for us by YouGov.
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Girlguiding settles gender-critical case
Girlguiding UK has released a statement saying it has settled its legal case with Katie Alcock. Katie Alcock and fellow guide leader Helen Watts were expelled from Girlguiding after an investigation into their social-media activity when they raised safeguarding concerns about Girlguiding’s policy of admitting male children and adults...
19th April 2022
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Most secondary schools now have trans-identified pupils: Sex Matters’ new survey
Anyone who interacts with young people will surely have noticed that trans identities are becoming more common – and varied. To get a measure of scale of this social shift, Sex Matters commissioned YouGov to poll secondary-school teachers about their experience of trans-identifying pupils. The findings provide the first...
11th April 2022
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Separate and single-sex service providers: a guide on the Equality Act sex and gender reassignment exceptions
Advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, released on 4th April 2022. Read our statement about it.
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Independent counsel agrees with our guidance for schools
Last year Sex Matters, together with Transgender Trend, produced guidance for schools. The Good Law Project recently published legal advice by Dan Squires QC. His conclusions support much of our guidance, although he disagrees with us on one important point – how simple and straightforward it should be to...
1st March 2022
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It’s not too late to talk to your MP!
Sex Matters supporters have been speaking to their MPs about the proposed legislation on conversion therapy. Their reports from face-to-face and telephone meetings highlight the need for a proper review of the proposals. Supporters who have managed to speak to their MPs tell us that some have been surprised...
2nd February 2022
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Banning conversion therapy: a response from the Bayswater Support Group
The UK’s largest support group run by and for parents of children, adolescents and young adults who identify as transgender responds to the government consultation.
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Clear rules and girls’ schools
Why the Girls' Day School Trust's single-sex policy is lawful and important.
11th January 2022
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Clear rules and girls’ schools
Why is the Girls’ Day School Trust’s new policy important and what are the implications for other charities and regulators in protecting human rights?
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Whose schools guidance is in line with the Equality Act?
Joint post with Transgender Trend (it’s long; make yourself a cup of tea). You can also download it as a pdf. Boys and Girls and the Equality Act In May 2021 Sex Matters and Transgender Trend published the first edition of our Schools Guidance: Boys and Girls and the...
18th December 2021
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Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges
The Department of Education’s advice for governing bodies, proprietors, headteachers, principals, senior leadership teams and designated safeguarding leads.