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Where sex matters | Single-sex services

Single-sex services

Single-sex services are critical for inclusion. Vulnerable women in particular rely on specialist women’s services such as refuges and rape-crisis centres. Everyday services such as changing rooms and hospital wards provide dignity and privacy for all.

The UK Equality Act 2010 sets out many everyday situations where it is lawful to provide single-sex services. These include:

Circumstances where a person of one sex might reasonably object to the presence of a person of the opposite sex

Equality Act – Schedule 3, paragraph 27 (6)

Shared single-sex spaces are often the most practical way to provide lots of people with everyday privacy and dignity in places such as gyms, hospitals, dormitories and changing rooms and washrooms in schools, workplaces and other public places. Specialist single-sex services such as women’s refuges and rape-crisis centres are crucial services.

What is the problem?

Rules and expectations about single-sex services have become confused and organisations are afraid to communicate them clearly. Some people think they are based on “gender identity”. Some think they are based on “gender expression” (clothing and appearance). Some think there are no rules at all.

This is not fair on anyone. Being forced to undress, wash, share sleeping accommodation or have personal care with a person of the opposite sex without your consent is degrading. Single-sex services should be clear.

Updates

  • LGBT logo on one side, ripped away from list of Rape Crisis standards

    The standards crisis in Rape Crisis

    The board of Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) has decided that “the time is right for a change of leadership”. Mridul Wadhwa, the charismatic, sari-wearing transgender male who convinced it to appoint him “as a woman” into the top job, is out, and ERCC says it is dealing with...

    22nd September 2024

  • If you are proud of the Equality Act make sure it is working for women

    Anneliese Dodds must listen to women

    Anneliese Dodds, the Minister for Women and Equalities, has said in response to a written question asking whether the government plans to amend the legal definition of what a woman is: “We are proud of the Equality Act and the rights and protections it affords women. The Government does...

    9th September 2024

  • EHRC issues guidance on discriminatory adverts

    As the EHRC says, an advert is a notice or announcement – written or oral – promoting a job opportunity, product, service or event. Adverts might appear in newspapers or magazines, on the television or radio, in shop windows or emails or on a website. They can also appear...

    16th July 2024

  • The new deal for working people and the definition of sex

    We expect the government to take action in the first 100 days on its new deal for working people, and that we will see something about this in the King’s Speech on 17th July, when its immediate legislative programme is announced. Before the election the Labour Party said that,...

    12th July 2024

  • Sex matters and the new government

    The UK has a new prime minister and we now know there will be a new Labour government, with a significant majority in the House of Commons. The Labour Party has pledged to provide greater support for victims of violence against women and greater protection for women’s rights at...

    5th July 2024

  • 57% of UK support making the Equality Act clear. Only 20% support making it easier to change sex on birth certificates.

    New poll finds voters want to make the Equality Act clear

    As reported in the Telegraph, Daily Mail, Express and Sun today, voters across the political spectrum are more supportive of making the Equality Act clear than making it easier for people to change their birth certificates.  Sex Matters commissioned a representative survey from an independent polling company to find...

    1st July 2024

  • Why is support for “trans rights” plummeting?

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    It’s not just about self-ID Support for the law that allows people to change the sex recorded on their birth certificate has fallen a long way over the past few years, most sharply when self-ID was being proposed, in 2018–19 in the UK and then again in 2021–22 in...

    14th June 2024

  • What's happening to open government consultations

    Despite the election, you should still respond to consultations

    You can still make a difference by responding: here’s how.

    7th June 2024

  • We call on all parties to commit to standing up for single-sex services. The next government must move quickly to fix the law so that it works for women and girls.

    It’s time to make the Equality Act clear

    For the past 18 months Sex Matters has been calling for the government to make a simple one-line amendment to clarify that “sex” in the Equality Act really does mean biology, and not self-identification or paperwork. The Conservatives’ announcement today that they would do this if elected is hugely...

    3rd June 2024

  • I’ve never come across any other topic where to ask to talk about it and ask to find solutions that work for everybody is seen as hateful.

    This damning judgment should be a wake-up call for the women’s sector

    Adams v Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre This week, an employment tribunal ruled that caseworker Roz Adams was subjected to unlawful discrimination and constructive dismissal by Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC).  The tribunal agreed with Adams’ description of what she had suffered as a “heresy hunt” at the hands of...

    22nd May 2024

  • To protect charities, the Charity Commission and EHRC need to step up

    The Charity Commission must step up to protect single-sex charities 

    Single-sex charities play an important role in meeting the needs of one sex or the other in many areas, including healthcare, mental health, social issues, sport and education.  Although charities are a form of voluntary action, the state requires that charity trustees pursue the charity’s objects, including when those...

    20th May 2024

  • Send bad guidance on single-sex services to the government

    The government wants examples of bad guidance on single-sex services

    Send in the evidence!  The government has issued a call for the public to input evidence of bad policies and guidance on single-sex services. UPDATE: Read Sex Matters’ guidance on how to submit evidence The Equality Act allows for clear single-sex services – including everyday facilities like toilets, showers ...

    2nd May 2024

  • Is a GRC really a licence to search?

    FairCop has published an advice from a KC on the lawfulness of the National Police Chiefs’ Council policy that tells forces that officers who transition can search (including strip-search) members of the opposite sex.  The policy (currently withdrawn for review) states that: “once a transgender colleague has transitioned, they...

    1st February 2024

  • We call on politicians to act with urgency to clarify the law to protect women and girls and the organisations that serve them.

    We call on politicians to support women’s services

    Women’s sector leaders talk to parliamentarians about our research On Wednesday 18th January MPs and peers gathered with leaders from the women’s sector to discuss Sex Matters’ new report, Women’s services: a sector silenced, at a cross-party meeting in the House of Commons.  The panel discussing the report’s findings...

    19th January 2024

  • These are serious, life-saving services.

    Women’s services: a sector silenced – new report

    A major new report launched today by Sex Matters reveals in shocking detail that leaders in the women’s sector who advocate for female-only services are routinely subjected to investigations, ostracisation, bullying and employment loss, and have been pressured into adopting policies that compromise women’s welfare and safety.  Yet a...

    16th January 2024

  • Sex and the police: confusion over the law and state-sanctioned sexual assault

    Update on the review into activism and impartiality in policing HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has today published a letter with interim findings from his review of the politicisation of the police, which was started in September 2023 at the request of the Home...

    10th January 2024

  • Gender-critical civil society submits report to GREVIO on sex and the law 

    Sex Matters, Fair Play For Women and Transgender Trend, together with LGB Alliance, the Women’s Rights Network, For Women Scotland and Merched Cymru, have submitted a report on the UK’s implementation of the Istanbul Convention.  The Istanbul Convention is about violence against women The “Istanbul Convention” is the Council of...

    31st December 2023

  • The 12 adverse effects of the GRA on the Equality Act and how to fix them in one go

    Sex and the law at the end of 2023

    This blogpost is based on a briefing sent to the Women and Equalities Committee in advance of its session with the Women and Equalities Minister, Kemi Badenoch.

    15th December 2023

  • Trans-identifying men are bullying their way into women’s spaces by threatening litigation.

    Resisting violations of women-only spaces

    The chair of Sex Matters’ board, barrister Naomi Cunningham, was asked to speak at a conference in Edinburgh on Tuesday 5th December to celebrate the first anniversary of the opening of Beira’s Place. Beira’s Place, based in Edinburgh but covering the whole Lothian region, is a trauma-informed service for...

    7th December 2023

  • Single-sex services: still lawful (but needlessly complicated)

    Guidance for service providers on single-sex services

    In the light of the For Women Scotland judgment.

    14th November 2023

  • It’s time to act

    Following the judgment in the For Women Scotland appeal, it is time for the government to act.

    2nd November 2023

  • Court rules that GRC changes sex for the Equality Act

    For Women Scotland’s appeal against the Haldane judgment that a GRC changes a person’s sex in relation to the Equality Act has been rejected. In the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers CSIH 37 the Court of Session has handed down a judgment that: “a person...

    1st November 2023

  • FiLiA 2023 Glasgow

    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...

    17th October 2023

  • Sex Matters to intervene in For Women Scotland case

    Sex Matters has been given permission, as a human-rights organisation, to intervene in the For Women Scotland case being heard by the Court of Session Inner House in Edinburgh on Wednesday 4th October. Our submission will urge the court to consider whether Lady Haldane’s interpretation of the meaning of...

    2nd October 2023

  • Let’s get it done – the story so far

    Campaign update and appeal

    Sex Matters is campaigning for the government to make a one-line change to the law to make clear that the protected characteristic of “sex” in the Equality Act means sex. This would make it easier to protect single-sex services, sports and associations. Read about the story so far, from...

    22nd September 2023

  • Stonewall chair speaks (and then recants)

    Iain Anderson, chair of trustees for Stonewall, has given an extended interview to Sky News’s Beth Rigby. It is well worth watching the whole thing. In the interview Anderson seemed to be trying to distance the organisation from the extreme position it has taken, saying that he recognises that...

    22nd July 2023

  • Westminster Hall debate on the definition of sex in the Equality Act

    Westminster Hall debate on our petition to make the Equality Act clear

    Monday 12th June 2023 For the full official transcription of the debate, see Hansard. In the Chair, Judith Cummins began by reminding everyone that the petitions being debated indirectly related to two ongoing legal cases in the Scottish courts, but that reference to those would be allowed. Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower)...

    13th June 2023

  • Human rights

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    This is the sixth in a series of blog posts in the run up to the debate on 12th June about clarifying the Equality Act.  The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s letter to the government on our proposal to clarify the Equality Act points out that if the Equality...

    7th June 2023

  • Poll finds less than a third agree with Stonewall

    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

  • Naomi Cunningham

    What does a GRC do?

    By Naomi Cunningham, Sex Matters’ Chair

    1st June 2023

  • Clarity

    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

  • "Biological"?

    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

  • We hope that GANHRI will speak up in solidarity with the EHRC, which is doing its job of protecting everyone’s human rights.

    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

  • Keep calm and carry on?

    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

  • We answer the questions that get asked most often

    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

  • 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

  • Two weeks to go!

    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

  • We have come to the view that if ‘sex’ is defined as biological sex for the purposes of EqA, this would bring greater legal clarity in eight areas.

    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

  • Sex Matters in the Equality Act webinar: Thursday 30th March 2023 7.30pm to 8.30pm

    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

  • 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

  • Quotes from motions made by councils in Cambridge, Bristol and South Oxfordshrie

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    Guest post by Bad Policy Watch

    10th February 2023

  • Really, Charlie? over picture of Charlie Falconer gesticulating

    Charlie Falconer’s testimony

    The Women and Equalities Committee held an evidence session on 31st January on the Gender Recognition Reform Bill and the Equality Act. It featured Robin White, Barrister at Old Square Chambers; Naomi Cunningham, Barrister at Outer Temple Chambers (and Sex Matters’ Chair); Dr Michael Foran Senior Fellow, Policy Exchange...

    2nd February 2023

  • 10 reasons why the government’s response won’t do

    Sex in the Equality Act

    The government has provided an initial response to our petition. It is over six weeks late and answers a different question from the one that we are asking. Its response focuses on single-sex services. Under the Equality Act 2010, providers are already able to restrict the use of spaces/services...

    27th January 2023

  • Freedom of belief matters

    Sex Matters has submitted input to Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the United Nations’ Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. He is compiling a report for the UN Human Rights Council on the right to freedom of religion or belief in relation to...

    18th January 2023

  • Statement on the UK government’s decision to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill

    We are very pleased that the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Scotland have decided to use their constitutional powers to stop the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from going to royal assent.  As we wrote in our briefing on the Bill and its implications for the...

    16th January 2023

  • 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

  • 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

  • Well-established principles of statutory interpretation include the presumption that the drafters of the legislation, highly skilled individuals, do not insert or omit words or use language carelessly.

    Was the concept of biological sex really ended in 2004?

    This is the second in our series of posts about the Haldane judgment. Philip Larkin famously wrote that “Sexual intercourse began / In nineteen sixty-three Between the end of the Chatterley ban / And the Beatles’ first LP”. Protection against sex discrimination followed not long after, in 1975, with...

    23rd December 2022

  • The question for the next four weeks

    The Gender Recognition Reform Bill looks set to be voted through by the Scottish Parliament. But before it becomes law it has to be given royal assent. 

    22nd December 2022

  • Risks in the final rush to legislate self-ID in Scotland

    The Scottish government’s plans to allow anyone from age 16 upwards who is ordinarily resident in Scotland to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC) without any medical assessment are due to be voted on by the Scottish Parliament tomorrow, 21st December. The vote comes barely a week after the...

    20th December 2022

  • UN expert calls for an “act of compliance”

    On Friday 16th December Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, sent an extraordinary letter to the Scottish Government claiming that “legal recognition of gender identity” via self-identification is an “international human rights imperative”. He has now...

    18th December 2022

  • 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

  • Clarify the Equality Act: sign the petition

    The Equality Act 2010 protects everyone’s rights and covers everything from schools to hospitals, pubs to sports, and everybody’s workplace. It includes protection against sex-discrimination, and allows single-sex services. But on 13th December a judge in Scotland pronounced that Equality Act does not recognise biological sex as a protected...

    16th December 2022

  • Compromises that destroy the human rights of one group are unfair. Solutions are needed that respect everyone’s rights.

    Trans rights are human rights!

    Sex Matters is a human-rights organisation. We believe that universal human rights form a powerful framework for thinking about how a diversity of freedoms can be respected, while protecting against harm and maintaining an open and prosperous society.  It is sometimes argued that those who call for clarity on...

    9th November 2022

  • Toilets Matter: a Sex Matters webinar. Friday 18th November, 7pm to 8pm

    Toilets Matter: a Sex Matters webinar

    Maya Forstater and Helen Joyce of Sex Matters were joined by journalist Rose George, author of The Big Necessity, on 18th November 2022 in the run-up to World Toilet Day.

    8th November 2022

  • Join the petition champions

    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

  • Letter to Gillian Keegan

    We call for a “Cass Review for Education”

    Sex Matters together with Bayswater Support Group, Fair Play For Women, LGB Alliance, Safe Schools Alliance and Transgender Trend have written to the new Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, to draw her attention to the problem of gender ideology being promoted in schools. We ask her to:...

    1st November 2022

  • Sex Matters writes to MSPs

    Tomorrow 27th October is the Stage 1 debate on the Gender Recognition Reform Bill by the Scottish Parliament. Sex Matters has written to MSPs and sent them a copy of our “Sex and the Law” booklet. Equality law remains an area which is reserved for UK wide legislation, yet...

    26th October 2022

  • "Stop this insane breach of privacy which destroys the dignity and safety of girls."

    Don’t water down the schools guidance – a plea from a 14-year-old girl

    “Cynthia”, 14, writes… I recently read in The Times that Ministers were seeking a “compromise” concerning the Department for Education’s long-awaited transgender schools’ guidance and, as a 14-year-old-girl in secondary school, to say I am furious is an understatement. It is absolutely vital that we – teenage girls who...

    19th October 2022

  • Reclaiming Kenwood Ladies’ Pond for women

    Take action: if you have experience to share as a Ladies’ Pond user let us know using the survey. The Kenwood Ladies’ Pond on Hampstead Heath is an iconic open-air single-sex service in London that was changed to running on the basis of gender self-ID, without consideration for women...

    29th August 2022

  • "In law, single-sex services are intended for one sex only."

    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

  • Interpreting the law canbe hard – we've made it easy for you

    Sex and the law – share our short guide

    What does intersex mean? Are you allowed to mention someone’s sex if they don’t want you to? Has someone with a gender recognition certificate changed their sex? Do you have the right to privacy when you’re taking your clothes off? Is it discrimination to keep male people out of...

    4th August 2022

  • If you can’t say sex, how can you say sexual harassment?

    An employment tribunal in Leeds has handed down judgment in a case involving catering staff at a Sheffield NHS Hospital Trust.  A female employee reported that a male colleague had asked her to go into a private room and then had quipped about removing his underwear. Another reported having...

    20th July 2022

  • Why do single-sex services matter?

    In February 2022 Sex Matters undertook a survey to find out why single-sex services matter to people. The response was astonishing. In a little over a week we received over 7,000 replies, nine out of ten of them from women. Many included details about how the loss of everyday...

    19th July 2022

  • Sex Matters response to “More in Common”

    More in Common is an organisation that seeks to “build societies and communities that are “stronger, more united, and more resilient to the increasing threats of polarisation and social division”.  Perhaps as a response to this challenge from Maya Forstater, it has applied its approach to the gender wars....

    16th June 2022

  • Is the Attorney General wrong about the law, or is Stonewall? 

    The Department for Education is developing new guidance for schools on how to accommodate children who identify as transgender. Attorney General Suella Braverman gave an interview which suggests that the guidance will be based on the principle that children who identify as transgender have not changed sex, and therefore...

    29th May 2022

  • There’s no duty on schools to compromise on single-sex spaces.

    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. Braverman said: “Under-18s cannot get a...

    27th May 2022

  • More than 1,500 women say NO to unexpected me in women's changing rooms

    Yes, sex DOES matter in changing rooms

    Following our blog post, more than 1,500 customers wrote to Monsoon to tell them why female-only changing rooms are important. Here’s one letter: “Dear Monsoon,What on earth are you thinking? Please get a sense of proportion here. The vast majority of your customers are female and will not take...

    13th May 2022

  • Say NO to self-ID in Scotland

    Self-ID: tell the Scottish Parliament your views!

    When the Gender Recognition Act came into force in 2004, it was a single regime for the UK. The Scottish Executive at the time considered whether Scotland should have separate legislation, but rejected this approach due to “cross-border anomalies”. In 2019 the UK government stepped back from its plan...

    3rd May 2022

  • “We make it really clear to all women when they access [the service] that there is the potential for trans women to be in that group and that that’s just how it is.” Service provider cited in the research supporting the Survivors' Network letter

    Single-sex services: the Survivors’ Network response

    On 4th April 2022 the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued new guidance on the law on single and separate-sex services, making clear that services for women don’t have to include trans-identifying males. This has been widely welcomed by leaders of women’s organisations in discussions we have been having,...

    27th April 2022

  • 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

  • Sex matters in changing rooms

    A story was reported in the media last week about Charlie, a “non-binary teenager”, being excluded from the fitting rooms of the women’s clothing retailer Monsoon in Birmingham. According to the report, Charlie (for avoidance of doubt, a young man) was told to leave the cubicle and then the...

    20th April 2022

  • 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

  • A letter to the Fawcett Society

    Dear Fawcett Society Your response to the EHRC guide for separate and single-sex service providers is dismaying.  You say  “there are occasions where services, in particular those for trauma survivors, should be able to make the decision” .  Which services do...

    6th April 2022

  • Equality and Human Rights Commission releases new guidance

    Statement on EHRC guidance

    Sex Matters welcomes new guidance on single-sex services and calls on EHRC to revise the statutory codes of practice.

    4th April 2022

  • Launch of #RespectMySex campaign

    Together with Heather Binning of the Women’s Rights Network and Caroline ffiske of Women Uniting, on Saturday 2nd April Maya Forstater, the executive director of Sex Matters, launched the “Respect My Sex if You Want My X” campaign.

    3rd April 2022

  • What happens when we talk about single-sex services and the law

    On 24th March, Sex Matters Director Rebecca Bull presented at the A Woman’s Place is in Manchester event, on single-sex services and the law, in a session chaired by Sex Matters Director Dr Emma Hilton. She spoke alongside Cathy Devine, Judith Green and Maggy Moyo. Here is Rebecca’s presentation,...

    28th March 2022

  • Dear Borish and Liz: Support the EHRC on single-sex services

    Human-rights campaigners call for new statutory guidance on single-sex services

    Over the past week the Women’s Aid Federation  and the Women’s Resource Centre have released strong statements defending single-sex services.  They follow the example of nia, which was the first women’s refuge provider to openly and proudly defend single-sex services. Sex Matters supports and applauds the leadership taken by the...

    24th March 2022

  • Karen Ingala Smith, photographed by Sophia Evans for the Observer

    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

  • Do crime victims deserve respect?

    We think crime victims deserve respect, dignity, sensitivity, compassion and courtesy, as specified in the Victims’ Code.

    10th February 2022

  • “We are gravely concerned by the attacks on the Equality and Human Rights Commission and call for you to support it.”

    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

  • Single-sex guidance covers

    What does case law say about single-sex services?

    The Equality and Human Rights Commission is planning to release new guidance on single-sex services imminently. Kishwer Falkner, Chair of the EHRC, agreed when Joanna Cherry QC MP asked her: “Would you agree with me that all guidance issued by EHRC should be grounded in statute and case law,...

    3rd February 2022

  • Principles for clarity and respect

    The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is planning to release new guidance on single-sex services imminently. To support this Sex Matters is publishing two briefings. The first one sets out principles for clarity and respect for single-sex services. From everyday facilities such as toilets and changing rooms to...

    28th January 2022

  • ‘The consultation document contains no clear definition of what will amount to “conversion therapy” caught by its proposals, nor of the meaning of “transgender”...’

    The EHRC steps up

    Sex Matters welcomes its statements on Gender Recognition Act reform and conversion therapy.

    26th January 2022

  • Clear rules and girls’ schools

    Why the Girls' Day School Trust's single-sex policy is lawful and important.

    11th January 2022

  • Single-sex services publications

    Simple guidance for single-sex services

    The Women and Equalities Committee has issued a new report that calls for guidance on the interaction between sex and “gender reassignment” in relation to single sex services. In other words, it wants clarification on whether it is legal to provide a service that is just for women and...

    20th December 2021

  • No need for sex data on domestic abuse?

    Yesterday the Domestic Abuse Commissioner launched a survey for survivors of domestic abuse about their experience of using domestic abuse services across England and Wales: “We are running this survey so that we can understand what is good about domestic abuse services in different areas of the country, and...

    7th December 2021

  • EHRC to issue guidance on single-sex and separate-sex services

    Baroness Falkner, Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has told ministers that the body is acting on a request by MPs to issue hospitals, schools, prisons and private firms with “worked examples and guidance” that will “provide clarity … on the provision of single-sex services.” It is...

    18th October 2021

  • The EHRC must step up and provide clarity on single-sex services

    The Equality and Human Rights Commission is consulting on its strategic plan for 2022–2025. We have made a submission in the form of a letter to the incoming head of the EHRC, Marcial Boo. Sex is one of the nine protected characteristics for which the EHRC is responsible. Fostering...

    5th October 2021

  • Truth and reconciliation

    How should the public sector leave the Stonewall Champions Scheme?

    6th June 2021

  • Time to #LeaveStonewall

    This is the letter we have sent to the CEOs of the 850 organisations that are members of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Scheme. Re: Leaving the Stonewall Diversity Champions Scheme We are writing to call on you to withdraw from the scheme, both for the sake of your own...

    29th May 2021

  • Are single-sex services legal?

    Does the judgment in AEA v EHRC (where permission for a judicial review of the EHRC Statutory Code of Practice was refused) mean that the legality of single-sex services has changed? The answer is no.  The Equality Act still allows single-sex services in a range of common everyday and specialist...

    19th May 2021

  • Sex Matters influences toilets policy

    As reported in The Telegraph today the Government in England is going to amend building regulations and planning guidance to ensure separate sex toilet facilities are installed in new buildings or those being developed. This is good news. Sex Matters was amongst the many gender critical organisations and individuals...

    16th May 2021

  • Is Gender Recognition an “access all areas” pass?

    The Gender Recognition Act 2004 was passed with little public scrutiny or consideration for women’s rights. A critical question concerns the provision in Section 9 that a gender recognition certificate changes a person’s sex for all purposes. Is this an “access all areas“ pass?  When the Act was passing...

    14th April 2021

  • Watching the watchdogs

    The job of the Women and Equalities Select Committee (WESC) is to hold Government to account on equality law and policy, particularly the Equality Act 2010. It also scrutinises the equalities watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The Committee has received over 2,000 submissions in its current inquiry...

    6th April 2021

  • Stonewalling the Domestic Violence Bill: Why make “misogyny” gender neutral?

    A short month ago there was an attempt to rush a bill through parliament that would set a precedent of “gender neutralising” motherhood in law; replacing the words mother or woman with  “pregnant person” in the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances (MOMA) Bill.   As Baroness Noakes highlighted, this is...

    13th March 2021

  • Toilets – a place where sex matters

    The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is undertaking a technical review on increasing accessibility and provision of toilets for men and women. We submitted a 60 page briefing . The submission is long, because the issue of who can use which toilets has become overly complicated and...

    19th February 2021

  • GRA Reform: Evidence to the Women and Equality Select Committee

    We submitted evidence to the Women and Equality Select Committee's Inquiry into Reform of the Gender Recognition Act.

    4th January 2021

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