...as CPS axes parents’ court threat

THE Crown Prosecution Service has axed guidelines warning parents they could be taken to court for refusing to agree to specific demands from a transgender child.

Previous guidance indicated that a parent could face domestic abuse charges for ‘withholding money for transitioning’ from their offspring or ‘refusing to use their preferred name or pronoun’.

But the revised section on ‘Transgender and non-binary identifying victims’ has dropped the reference to withholding money. It also states any charges brought for allegedly misgendering a trans person would be on the basis there was ‘the intention of causing emotional or psychological distress’, adding: ‘The public interest of prosecuting a parent in this context would have to be considered.’

The amended guidance also states ‘sex refers to biological differences or legal recognition’, while ‘gender tends to refer to social or cultural differences and the way in which someone perceives themselves’.

Broadly welcoming the move, Claire Lonergan, of Women’s Rights Network, said they are ‘disappointed that a significant amount of activist language remains’.

The CPS said the revisions are ‘intended to make as clear as possible how we will apply the law around domestic abuse’.