Petition calls on parliament to ban anti-LGBT material from schools
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty
A new petition is asking parliament to ban anti-LGBT+ materials from schools after what they describe as an “influx” of such materials being sent to schools in England.
One of these “school resource packs” is being sent out by a group called Transgender Trend action group, whose aim is to “question the trans narrative,” reports the Argus.
Tristan Fewings/Getty
On their website, Transgender Trend say they are a group of parents or carers who are “concerned about their teenager’s sudden identification as ‘transgender’ or worried about the new teaching of ideology as fact.”
They go on to question the introduction of gender neutral bathrooms and changing rooms in schools, and say the movement is also for “feminists and allies” who worry about “the erosion of sex-based rights and protections for women and girls.”
The petition is asking parliament to ban all materials from schools that are designed to give a “negative view of the LGBT+ community.”
The petition says that anti-LGBT+ materials in schools can recommend conversion therapy, scaremonger and encourage school staff to break equality laws.
They also say that some of this information is giving “false information regarding legally available treatment for transgender youth in the UK.”
The petition currently has over 2,500 signatures. If it reaches 10,000, the government will respond to the petition, and if it reaches 100,000, it will be considered for parliamentary debate.
The group has now gained political support, with Labour MP for Hove, Peter Kyle, saying there was “no place” for these kinds of materials in schools.
Director of the Transgender Trend group told the Argus that the Equalities Act 2010 was “open to interpretation”, and said that transgender children need “love and support.” However, she also said their needs had to be balanced with the needs of cisgender people.
PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/AFP/Getty
In June, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced it was no longer classifying being transgender as a mental illness.
However, a number of anti-trans incidents have occurred in the UK since then. Just last month, a group of anti-trans activists hijacked the Pride in London parade.
There was further controversy last week when Londoners spotted stickers going up around the city in the shape of a phallus that read: “Women don’t have penises.”
Sarah Brown, a member of Stonewall’s Trans Advisory Group told PinkNews last week that there is “a strong push to demonise trans women in the UK,” and that she is worried about where it will end.
