Equality Act • Page 3
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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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Letter to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI)
Our 12th May 2023 letter, signed by 24 organisations, to Katharina Rose, Geneva Representative of GANHRI, asking it to support Great Britain and its national human-rights institution, the EHRC, in protecting everyone’s human rights and fostering dialogue between organisations that also respect rights.
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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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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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Sex in the Equality Act FAQs
Answers to frequently asked questions about sex in the Equality Act 2010 and Sex Matters’ proposed clarification.
10th 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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I don’t think Sex Equality was meant to allow men to shower with girls
Maya Forstater for the Express
Maya Forstater starts petition which calls on the Government to clarify the Equality Act to make clear that "sex" means biological sex. -
JK Rowling-backed petition for Government to make clear that ‘sex means biological sex, not sex as modified by gender recognition certificate’ in Equality Act will be considered for debate in Parliament
Madeleine Ross for Mail Online
A petition backed by JK Rowling calling for changes to be made to the Equality Act will be considered for debate in Parliament. The Harry Potter author was among those to support the proposal which seeks to 'make it clear' that 'sex' and 'gender reassignment'... -
A petition to sign on International Women’s Day: stop trans rights activists taking advantage of ambiguous wording in the Equality Act
Maya Forstater for The Daily Sceptic
The Equality Act is important because it sets the rules which allow single-sex services (including both specialist and everyday services), schools, associations, charities and sports. -
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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UK Athletics claims law change needed to ban trans women from female events
Sean Ingle for The Guardian
Sex Matters is quoted.
UKA wants to have female-born and open categories; Ian Beattie says equality laws prevent change at present -
Why are lawyers giving faulty advice about women-only sports?
The governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom, UK Athletics, has called for the government to amend the Equality Act in order to guarantee the legality of female-only sports. While Sex Matters agrees with UKA that female-only sports are essential to provide safe and fair...
3rd February 2023
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Petition at 70,000. We write to the Minister again.
Our petition now has over 70,000 signatures, and those who have signed it will know that the Chair of the Petitions Committee has written to the Government calling for an initial response by Wednesday 18th January. We have also written to the Minister, Kemi Badenoch, asking for a response....
16th January 2023
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Why Scotland’s self-ID bill should be referred to the Supreme Court
The UK Government has to decide what to do about Scotland’s Gender Recognition Bill by 19th January. There has been quite a bit of legal commentary about using the power of Section 35 of the Scotland Act (read Michael Foran’s and Joshua Rozenberg’s pieces). Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has...
6th January 2023
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Labour should call for a pause before voting on the gender recognition bill in Scotland
Sex Matters has sent an urgent open letter to Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, and Jackie Baillie MSP, calling on Labour MSPs to demand more time to consider the implications of the Haldane opinion before voting on the Gender Recognition Reform bill (Scotland). The Labour Party,...
16th December 2022
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Julia Hartley-Brewer furious as Cambridge Dictionary redefines ‘woman’
Live from the TalkRadio studio on Talk TV
The Cambridge Dictionary has changed its definition of woman to include men who identify as women.
Julia Hartley-Brewer reacts to the news with Maya Forstater.
5:48 on YouTube. -
Petition to make the Equality Act clear – campaign webinar
Maya Forstater and Helen Joyce of Sex Matters were joined by campaigners @MsGiveZeroFox and @satiricole on 6th December 2022. Watch the recording For other Sex Matters webinars, see our YouTube channel. About the webinar Since our petition was launched in early November, more than 38,000 people have signed, calling...
29th November 2022
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Why Sex Matters is calling for clarification of the Equality Act 2010 – a briefing
Sex Matters has launched a petition calling on the government to clarify that in the Equality Act 2010, “sex” means biological sex, and is not modified by the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This would protect the rights of people of both sexes, as well as people who identify as...
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Petition champions
After just three days we were over a quarter of the way to the 100,000 signatures needed to prompt a parliamentary debate. We’ve now got more than 40,000 signatures. Thank you to everyone who has already signed the Make the Equality Act Clear Petition. Every signature helps! If everyone...
5th November 2022
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Campaign update: Day 1
Yesterday we launched the Make the Equality Act Clear petition, calling on the government to clarify, with a legislative amendment, that sex means sex in the Equality Act 2010. It got an amazing response. In less than 24 hours, 15,000 people signed the petition, and the number is continuing...
3rd November 2022
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The Attorney General clarifies the law on single-sex services
On 10th August 2022 the Attorney General Suella Braverman gave a speech at the think-tank Policy Exchange. She noted that both public and private bodies are struggling to understand their obligations in relation to single-sex services and the protected characteristics of sex and gender reassignment. Her speech aimed to...
26th August 2022
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Male and female in the Equality Act
Last week Old Square Chambers hosted a seminar about single-sex services and the law. Barristers Nicola Newbegin and Robin Moira White argued that biological sex is something that “popped up” recently in relation to the Equality Act. The meaning of the protected characteristic of “sex”, they said, is ambiguous and...
21st June 2022
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By and for women
Aurora New Dawn runs services supporting victims of male violence. This research supports Aurora’s commitment to the use of ‘by and for women’ support.
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Karen Ingala Smith talks about single-sex services
“I have heard leaders of charities that are supposed to support women who’ve been subjected to men’s violence say that it is ‘not safe’ for them to speak about this. That makes me so angry. How can they talk about their safety and accept those salaries when we are...
23rd February 2022
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Will the Joint Committee on Human Rights defend the EHRC?
Sex Matters has written to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) to urge it to write to the United Nations to confirm its parliamentary role in overseeing the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and stating its confidence in the EHRC, after recent attacks which have sought to...
9th February 2022
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Letter to Joint Committee on Human Rights
Our February 2022 letter urging the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) to write to the United Nations to confirm its parliamentary role in overseeing the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and stating its confidence in the EHRC, after recent attacks which tried to undermine it.
