Parliament to debate Equality Act after 140,000 demand law be left alone
More than 100,000 people have signed the petition, and it will now be considered for debate in parliament. (Credit: UK Gov)
The government will debate a petition, urging them not to amend the Equality Act 2010, after fears the government could change the definition of “sex” in the act to “biological sex”.
It will be addressed in the House of Commons on 12 June 2023.
The petition, which has been signed by nearly 140,000 people, begs the government to rethink potential amendments to the Equality Act due to concerns it “would remove a legal protection for trans people and encourage discrimination”.
The petition reads: “Currently, the Act protects trans people from discrimination on the basis of both sex and “gender reassignment”, regardless of whether they have undergone medical transition or hold a Gender Recognition Certificate.
“It can allow trans people to access single-sex spaces such as DV shelters, bathrooms and hospital wards.
“It can allow trans people to access single-sex spaces such as [domestic violence] shelters, bathrooms and hospital wards.
The government initially responded to the petition on 25 January stressing their belief in “individual liberty” and stating clearly “changes to the Equality Act are not necessary”.
However, on 21 February Kemi Badenoch asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for its advice on the “benefits or otherwise” of amending the Equality Act to define sex as “biological”.
The EHRC advised that this move “merits further consideration”.
Its letter stated: “There is no straightforward balance, but we have come to the view that if ‘sex’ is defined as biological sex for the purposes of Equality Act, this would bring greater legal clarity.”
EHRC chairwoman, Baroness Kishwer Falkner, acknowledged that currently, trans men and women who hold a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) have their gender recognised as their legal sex.
Changing the definition of sex could render the certificates useless.
Critics responded to the EHRC’s letter in anger, including former legal director of the EHRC Grey Collier who tweeted: “The proposed change in the law is nonsense on stilts. The suggestion is legally illiterate, unworkable and is just another way of using trans people’s actual lives as a pawn in the culture wars.”
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