Public ‘worried’ trans and women rights are at odds
Sex versus gender debate is now more polarised, says equalities chief who urges caution on pace of change
THE Equalities watchdog chief has said there is “genuine public concern” that trans rights are conflicting with the rights of women.
Baroness Falkner of Margravine, who chairs the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said that in five years the debate over “sex versus gender” had become “more and polarised”.
Her comments come after the human rights body wrote to the Scottish Government asking it to pause plans to make it legally easier for people to change gender.
The watchdog urged that a “more detailed consideration is needed” of the legislation, which would allow people to declare their legal gender rather than requiring a diagnosis from a doctor that they are suffering from gender dysphoria. Speaking on the BBC Radio 4’s Today, Baroness Falkner said the call for the pause was partly due to the debate over trans rights shifting since the 2017 consultation on the Scottish bill.
She said: “What has changed is from the original consultation in 2017 to now, nearly five years, there has been a significant public debate around issues of sex versus gender.
“They have become more complex and more polarised. Public understanding of gender identity has broadened beyond the legal definition of gender reassignments. This engages conflicts of rights issues. There are perceptions that those defending the rights of trans people conflict with those defending the rights of women.”
When pressed on whether she thought there is a clash between trans and women’s rights, Baroness Falkner added: “There is a genuine public concern that they conflict.”
The exchange comes as the EHRC is due to publish guidance for organisations on single sex issues and spaces.
Baroness Falkner said the guidelines would cover areas such as “participating in drug testing in competitive sport [and] measures to address other barriers facing women”.
Meanwhile, the EHRC has faced criticism by LGBT campaigners for its intervention on the Scottish bill.
The charity Stonewall said it was “deeply troubled” by the call to pause the legislation, saying it would mean further delays to changes trans people have been “waiting on for many years”.
The Scottish Government also pushed back on the EHRC’s call, saying “our support for trans rights does not conflict with our continued strong commitment to advance equality and to protect and uphold women’s rights”.
Yesterday, the crossbench peer, who once worked for the Liberal Democrats, defended her appointment as EHRC chief in 2020, as well as her record supporting LGBT rights.
She said: “I have been in Parliament for nearly 18 years, I voted for same sex marriage, I voted for all things that reenforce and support LGBT rights.”