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Things are bad for trans folks in the UK right now. A hate organisation playing dress-up as a human rights org called the EHRC that the government uses to create advice on following the equality act and surrounding legal infrastructure issued a code of practice for businesses last year following the ruling that the equality act's definition of woman and lesbian does not include trans women. This code was only a draft, meant to tell businesses what legally complying with this ruling would look like, and would have encouraged businesses to act as gender police in bathrooms and other "single sex" spaces, creating a very unsafe environment for trans people, massively infringing on our rights to exist as ourselves in public. It is this generation's Section 28. It is segregation and it is part of the ongoing trans genocide by the UK government.
After a mass lobby, many people writing to their MPs, the goodlawproject getting involved, and warnings from the UN and many human rights orgs and businesses, our equalities minister rejected the draft. However, a new version just released that she has approved, and it's almost identical to the original. This guidance confusing, contradictory, and dangerous. And we have less than 40 days to convince our MPs to vote against it.
What you can do 🏳️⚧️
Attend the mass lobby on the 25th of June. Call your MP first to make sure they'll be there. More info on the trans actual Instagram/website.
Email your MP. Look up their email (gov.uk has a tool) and send them an urgent, polite email now asking them to vote against this guidance
Also, email your MP to ask for a meeting. They legally have to meet with you. Give the issue you want to talk about, your name, address, and contact number.
If you're not in the UK, share this post, and tell your UK friends about the mass lobby. We need as many of us as we can get.
Check in on your trans friends. We are in a sea of hate right now; community, love, and companionship are sorely needed, and always appreciated.
Where to learn more
The non binary barrister on Instagram has done some great videos on this, as has the good law project.
Important reminder
I know this is a scary time, but we fought this before, and we'll keep fighting. We've got each other's backs. Our community is strong and we will survive this as long as we celebrate and lean on each other.
Don't make eachother more scared than we need to be - avoid the misinformation. Remember, this is not law. This is statutory guidance. Even if it passes, it is a document which may be used in court if a business is brought into a lawsuit over their gender policies in their single sex spaces. This guidance passing does not make it illegal to use the bathroom. It does not even make it illegal for a business to have trans inclusive bathrooms etc. It advises on whether that business should be considered to be illegally non-complying with the equality act in the event of a case.
It says many scary things and it will no doubt scare businesses into trying to comply anyway. It is bad and dangerous, especially when it comes to things like domestic violence shelters, but not in the ways that a lot of people have been saying. You won't need your birth certificate to use the loo.
