EHRC Confirms Single-Sex Spaces Follow Biological Sex, Giving Parliament 40 Days to Object
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 21
EHRC Confirms Single-Sex Spaces Follow Biological Sex, Giving Parliament 40 Days to Object
8 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 21
Single-sex toilets, changing rooms and hospital wards must be used according to biological sex under new EHRC guidance approved by ministers and laid before parliament.
The code says trans people should be offered a third or gender-neutral space, and warns that leaving them without any access to services or facilities would be unlikely to be proportionate.
Gender-neutral toilets and changing rooms should be self-contained and lockable, while venues with one male and one female toilet could convert both to unisex facilities; the EHRC said disabled toilets could also be used.
The guidance follows last year's Supreme Court ruling that "woman" under the Equality Act is based on biological sex, and will become statutory unless MPs or peers object within 40 days.
Could European human rights law overrule the UK's new guidance on single-sex spaces?
As UK law mandates sex-based spaces, are we overlooking design solutions that ensure privacy for all?
With trans women barred from female toilets, who will fund the new gender-neutral facilities?