We are deeply concerned by the recent announcements from Girlguiding and the Women’s Institute that will prevent young trans girls and women from joining as members. These changes send a clear message that some women and girls are less welcome than others. This is a stance that we reject completely.
Recent legal developments have been used to justify these decisions, so we feel it is important to be clear. The Supreme Court ruling on “biological sex” is an interpretation of the Equality Act, it is not an order to exclude trans people. The law allows single-sex organisations, but it does not force any group to bar trans women or girls. Girlguiding and the WI have made a clear choice about how to respond, when different choices were possible.
We also want to make it abundantly clear that trans people are still protected by the Equality Act under the characteristic of gender reassignment. Trans and non-binary people still have rights not to be harassed or discriminated against. You deserve safety, dignity and visibility in public life, in community spaces, and in youth organisations.
We’re encouraged by how many cis women and allies are publicly calling out these decisions and loudly standing up for trans inclusion. At the same time, we recognise that some of the most vocal trans-exclusionary campaigns are backed by significant private wealth. High-profile figures such as J.K. Rowling have publicly committed substantial amounts of their own personal funds to legal campaigns that seek to narrow trans people’s access to rights and spaces. That financial power does not make those views representative of the wider public.
Here at King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Pride, we believe that trans women are women, and that trans men are men, and trans girls are girls, and trans boys are boys. Excluding trans women and girls from women’s organisations causes real and very avoidable harm. Welcoming them strengthens our communities, our solidarity, and the saftey of everyone who does not fit narrow expectations of gender expression.
If you are trans or non-binary, we encourage you to learn about your rights if you face discrimination. You belong here.
If you are an ally who is happy to share your spaces with trans women and girls, now is the time to speak up. To your friends, to the organisations you are a part of, and in public. The louder our support, the harder it will be for bad-faith actors to pretend that exclusion is being done ‘in womens name’.
If these announcements are making you feel scared, angry or just exhausted, please look after yourself and reach out for support. It is OK to step back from the news when you need to.
If you want to understand the legal situation in more detail, organisations such as the Good Law Project and Stonewall have put together some very clear explainers on the Supreme Court ruling and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s guidance, and the EHRC itself has published it’s own interpretation for service providers and employers. All three are linked above so that you can read, reflect and decide what feels right for you.
We will not quietly accept attempts to drag our community backwards. We deserve to live our lives in peace, with our families and friends, without having to justify our existence over and over again.
We stand with every trans and non-binary person in West Norfolk and beyond, and we are not going anywhere.
