Sex Matters at FiLiA

The Sex Matters team had a fantastic time at the FiLiA conference in Glasgow from 13th to 15th October. Over 1,400 delegates from all over the world gathered to talk about women’s rights.

Hundreds came to talk to us about the next stage of our campaign to clarify the meaning of “sex” in the Equality Act.

We are asking individuals, service providers and politicians to say simply “I support single-sex services”, and the government to make an amendment to the law to make it clear that sex means sex in the Equality Act.

We spoke to so many inspired and inspiring women, including some who said this was the first time they were speaking up in public. Many said they would like to receive a campaign pack (If you donate £10 today you will be one of the first to receive one).

There was an awful moment before the conference when the organisers feared it would not go ahead, after transactivists put pressure on the venue to cancel. But FiLiA said it would be ready to take legal action against this unlawful belief discrimination and the venue saw sense.

On the final day we were joined by JK Rowling who talked candidly and movingly about why she had decided to stand up for women’s sex-based rights. Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, also spoke about her work around the world, and why she spoke up against self-ID in Scotland last year. There were dozens of talks and workshops, many from women working in front-line services or battling particular injustices. They all agreed that sex matters.

Some of the people who said “I support single-sex services”