Updates • Page 5
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To see updates organised by topic, go to Where sex matters. Click on a tag at the end of any update to see other updates and resources with the same tag.
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Less than a third of Brits say transwomen should be allowed in female-only spaces and sports
Sex Matters has today released the findings from a representative national poll. It finds that less than one in three Britons believe that transwomen – men who identify as women – should be allowed in women’s sports, changing rooms and toilets, or to provide ‘female-only’ intimate care. The lack...
5th June 2023
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How the public-sector equality duty was turned against women
This is the fourth in a series of blog posts in the run up to the debate on 12th June about clarifying the Equality Act. One of the most important places where it matters that sex clearly means sex in the Equality Act is the public-sector equality duty. This...
2nd June 2023
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Sex in the Equality Act: the Westminster Hall debate – webinar
On 8th June 2023, Helen Joyce talked to academic Michael Foran and barrister Naomi Cunningham on about the upcoming Westminster Hall debate on clarifying the Equality Act. Among the questions discussed: Watch the recording For other Sex Matters webinars, see our YouTube channel. Background To learn more about the...
1st June 2023
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Campaign update: make the Equality Act clear
Read Hansard’s transcription of the debate or our summary. There will be a debate on our petition on Monday 12th June. Here is an update on the things you can do to support the campaign. Share our video on Twitter and Facebook. Write to your MP If you haven’t written to...
1st June 2023
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Why sex must mean sex across the Equality Act
This is the third in a series of blog posts in the run up to the debate on 12th June about clarifying the Equality Act. Many people who have written to their MPs about the proposal have had a response that says something like this: “The current guidance from...
1st June 2023
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Why “sex” and “gender” mean the same thing in law
This is the second in a series of blog posts in the run up to the debate on 12th June about clarifying the Equality Act. The language of sex and gender is a confusing quagmire. The amendment we are proposing aims to clarify one particularly important thing: that the...
31st May 2023
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Why we don’t want “biological” added before “sex” in the law
This is the first of a series of blog posts in the run up to the debate on 12th June about clarifying the Equality Act. The word “sex” appears 268 times in the Equality Act 2010; “same sex” appears 48 times, “opposite sex” 28 times. Our petition says: Update...
30th May 2023
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British Cycling excludes trans-identified males from competitive female cycling
In April 2022, British Cycling made global news when it revoked eligibility for Emily Bridges, a Welsh trans-identified male cyclist, who was poised to make his debut in the female category. This would have been in a major-track cycling event, against one of Britain’s most decorated cyclists, Dame Laura...
26th May 2023
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Schools need clear guidance
The Department for Education has promised to publish new draft guidance on sex and gender for schools and colleges in England before the end of this school year. Schools need simple rules to give children, parents and teachers clear expectations. We are calling on the DfE to spell out that...
21st May 2023
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Should a civil-service union promote harassment and discrimination?
At its annual conference starting on Tuesday 23rd May, PCS – Public and Commercial Services Union, the largest civil-service union – is planning to debate motions that denigrate gender-critical civil servants and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The motions seek to commit the union to a political stance...
19th May 2023
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We call on GANHRI to protect civic space
On 3rd May 2023 Stonewall and a group of organisations wrote to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) accusing Britain’s equalities watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, of being a “failed institution” which is “actively harming trans people”. This is the third time Stonewall has...
16th May 2023
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Response to Victor Madrigal-Borloz’s report on the UK
The UN Independent Expert Victor Madrigal-Borloz has issued an extraordinary report at the end of his ten-day mission to the UK. The thrust of it is the familiar claim that speaking clearly about the material reality of the two sexes amounts to “hate”, alongside the equally familiar dismissal of...
12th May 2023
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Teenagers and gender distress: what parents need to know – webinar
Helen Joyce talked with researcher Matilda Gosling and psychotherapist Stella O’Malley on Tuesday 16th May 2023 about how parents can discuss gender-identity ideology with their children in a compassionate and evidence-based way. Watch the recording For other Sex Matters webinars, see our YouTube channel. About the speakers Stella O’Malley...
9th May 2023
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Sex Matters in Edinburgh
Friday 16th June 7pm to 11pm SOLD OUT! If you bought a ticket, please check your inbox for an email from [email protected] which has all the details about the venue. Sex Matters is coming to Edinburgh! We promised we’d hold an event in the constituency that got the most...
9th May 2023
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Answers to questions on sex, gender, biology and identity
Sex Matters has written a set of frequently asked questions which seeks to provide answers in everyday language about the material reality of sex, and the idea of gender identity. The aim is to provide clear starting points for debate and discussion, for anyone trying to understand the competing...
28th April 2023
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The non-binary category in marathons
Mara Yamauchi is the UK’s third-fastest female marathon runner ever and a two-time Olympian. She is a member of Sex Matters’ advisory group and has written this guest blog. Since 31st March, post-puberty males have been banned from the female category by World Athletics – in world rankings competitions...
26th April 2023
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Practical ideas for parents of gender-questioning teenagers
Sex Matters is publishing the final part in a series on gender identity in teenagers today. Aimed at parents, the series sets out reasons teenagers might start to question their gender, treatment and outcomes, and practical ideas for parents and carers of gender-questioning teenagers. Writing in The Critic today,...
17th April 2023
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DfE guidance must be clear: schools cannot facilitate “social transition”
Reports about the Department for Education’s forthcoming guidance on trans issues for schools are encouraging, going quite some way towards our recommendations. The Times reports that schools will be told not to allow children to use opposite-sex facilities or play contact sports for the opposite sex, and to tell...
16th April 2023
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Thank you, Kishwer Falkner
We have written to Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission: Dear Kishwer Falkner Thank you for publishing your letter to the Minister for Women and Equalities setting out, with careful reasoning, why you support revisiting and clarifying the meaning of “sex” as a protected...
11th April 2023
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Two weeks to go!
Last October, Sex Matters launched a petition asking the government to amend the Equality Act 2010 in order to make clear what the protected characteristic of sex actually means. We think it should mean biological sex – male or female; the personal characteristic that is recorded on newborns’ birth...
6th April 2023
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EHRC publishes letter on clarifying sex in the Equality Act
Sex Matters’ press statement Sex Matters welcomes the letter from Kishwer Falkner, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to Kemi Badenoch, the Minister for Women and Equalities, responding to her request for advice on clarifying the definition of the protected characteristic of sex in the Equality Act...
4th April 2023
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Let Women Speak in New Zealand
“The only way to describe the trans activist mob at Auckland today is feral. Kellie-Jay Keen had to get escorted out of the rally after only being there a brief time due to fears for her safety, and the rally was abandoned.” Katrina Biggs, Auckland We were shocked by...
26th March 2023
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Fairness matters in sport
Philosopher Dr Jon Pike has written a guest blog post for Sex Matters, based on his recent article published in the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport: ‘Why “Meaningful Competition” is not fair competition’. In that article, he sets out case for a two-category model for sport, female and...
24th March 2023
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A policy in search of evidence
Why we need to treat with caution claims about the specific harms of keeping trans-identifying men in male prisons
21st March 2023
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Sex Matters in the Equality Act webinar
Helen Joyce talked with our chair, Naomi Cunningham, and our executive director, Maya Forstater, on Thursday 30th March 2023 about the Sex Matters proposal to amend the Equality Act to clarify that the protected characteristic of sex refers to biological sex, and not “sex as modified by a gender-recognition...
20th March 2023
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What can parents do about gender ideology in schools?
At Sex Matters, we often hear from parents concerned about what their child is being told at school about gender identity. They may hear about lessons in which sex is described as fluid, changeable or a spectrum, or in which gender stereotypes are presented as defining whether someone is...
10th March 2023
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New MoJ transgender prisoner policy: Sex Matters’ response
Sex Matters welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s announcement that men who identify as women will no longer be housed in women’s prisons if they have male genitalia or have committed sexual or violent crimes, with exceptions only to be made with ministerial authority. We join Woman’s Place UK and...
6th March 2023
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IPSO’s updated guidance – our response
IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, has published draft Guidance on reporting of sex and gender identity to replace its 2016 publication, Guidance on researching and reporting stories involving transgender individuals. Sex Matters has written a response to the consultation and hopes that the final guidance will be improved...
2nd March 2023
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Lesbians without liberty
If you heard of a country that passed a law banning lesbians from creating formal associations based on their sex and their sexual orientation you would think that it was an authoritarian regime, stuck in the dark ages of gay rights. You would expect Stonewall and Amnesty International to...
24th February 2023
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Searching for a simple answer
What does a gender-recognition certificate actually do? The question comes into sharp focus when people are forced to undress, or have to submit to intimate touching. It is a question of central importance to HM Prison and Probation Service’s policy on searching. Human rights As the Divisional Court in...
22nd February 2023
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Child gender medicine: the evidence – webinar
At this Sex Matters webinar, on 23rd February 2023, our director of advocacy, Helen Joyce, talked with sociologist Michael Biggs and social-science researcher Matilda Gosling about current practice in child gender medicine, and the poor quality of the research it is based on. Watch the recording For other Sex...
14th February 2023
