Trans Girls should ALWAYS be welcome in the Girl Guides (Important rant below)
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Girlguiding UK has for years maintained an ethos of being an inclusive, safe space for all girls, including those who are transgender. However, due to the recent Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 that decreed gender to be based on biological sex, they have been faced with the challenge to either exclude their valued trans members or risk destructive legal action from trans-discriminating organisations and figureheads. Sadly, as a charity with limited resources to cover any high legal fees, they have frustratingly chosen not to risk legal challenges and have backtracked on their once-inclusive membership policies. They did so without consulting their members and leaders, many of whom are very willing to stand up and fight against these blatant moves towards a more transphobic society.
This transphobic decision raises significant questions regarding;
The potential impact on vulnerable young people in our communities
Compliance with the UN Charter of Childrenâs Rights and the Equality Act 2010Â
Safeguarding best practice for gender questioning and trans young people who are already members of the organisation
The duty of care for volunteers and youth members
I have been a dedicated member of the Girl Guides since I was five years old and, over the last 17 years, have worked my way from Rainbows to volunteering with a Brownie unit. My time in Guiding has instilled strong moral values of solidarity and inclusion in my character. Through the Guide promise, girls pledge to remain true to ourselves and our beliefs, and to help others, especially those who need it most. The Guide law states that a Guide is a sister to all and thinks of others before herself. This exclusion of Trans members contradicts the very ethos of inclusion and solidarity that the Guides helped teach me.Â
If this decision is not revoked, it risks the closure of many Guiding units across the country. I refuse to be part of an organisation that contradicts my moral beliefs by following policies of exclusion and discrimination against minorities. Therefore, this exclusion of trans members has, in turn, pushed me to consider leaving my position as a volunteer, a consideration that I know I share with many of my fellow leaders and volunteers all across the UK. If this decision is not reversed and we all leave our positions, then countless units will cease to exist, and tens of thousands of girls will lose the safe space that this decision is seemingly trying to protect.Â
I personally volunteer at a Brownie unit, which includes 33 wonderful girls, as part of a wider district that already struggles to recruit enough volunteers to meet the local demand for places across all four levels of Guiding. If my fellow volunteers and I were to walk away because of these discriminatory policies that violate our morals, then our seven units would shut down, leaving our hundreds of members without their guiding safe space.Â
Conflict with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
This exclusion of trans members also puts Girlguiding at odds with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; specifically Article 2, which states that nations have a duty to protect all marginalised groups of children from any form of discrimination, including that based on gender identity. This has been embedded in both Scottish and UK law, and therefore both Scotland and the wider UK have a duty to address discrimination against all marginalised groups and make proactive efforts to ensure that such children, in this case trans children, have their rights protected on an equal basis with all other children. Therefore, trans and gender non-conforming children have a right to be afforded the same protection and opportunities as their cisgender peers. The UK is obliged to ensure that organisations operating here do not breach these rights.
Concerns under the Equality Act 2010
Furthermore, the Equality Act 2010 dictates in Section 19 (2)(d) that indirect discrimination on the basis of exclusion is only lawful for a charity such as Girlguiding if it can provide justification for the discrimination. The wording of this act means that this discriminatory exclusion of Trans members of Girlguiding can only occur under British law if it can be proven that the presence of trans members within the organisation is a safeguarding risk. Trans girls are no more or less of a safeguarding risk than their cisgender peers, which means that their exclusion from the organisation is both discriminatory and unlawful.
Girlguidingâs Existing Safeguarding Protections
Girlguiding has had policies in place, training and clear protective measures that have protected all girls since trans girls were able to join in 2017. As an adult volunteer, I am subject to a PVG check and regularly complete hours of training and retraining to maintain my understanding of Guidingâs safe space and protection policies. Licensed leadership qualifications are required for residential trips, and an approved risk assessment must be in place in advance. The recent Supreme Court ruling should not be used to threaten organisations like Girlguiding with litigation from gender-critical parents or carers.
Emerging Safeguarding Risks Created by Gender Critical Policing
In contrast, this new policy causes various safeguarding issues that place girls at risk of discrimination. The body policing of young girls that will now have to occur to enforce this new policy will negatively affect members, irrespective of their gender identity, and will likely result in the exclusion of cisgender girls who do not fit into narrow-minded ideals of what certain people classify as a woman. Many examples in the media highlight how policies of body policing being pushed by gender critical culture have led to discriminatory actions against women. There is documented evidence of women and girls being challenged, harassed or assaulted over their appearance in single-sex spaces. This affects anyone who does not present in a female gender conforming way, including taller women or those with conditions such as PCOS. It exposes all women and girls to abuse under the guise of gender-critical body policing.Â
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/12/ive-been-spat-on-gender-nonconforming-women-tell-of-toilet-abuse-in-aftermath-of-supreme-court-ruling https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/15/i-am-a-gender-non-conformingwoman-here-is-what-my-life-is-like Â
Contrastingly, there are ZERO examples of trans children abusing other children within a Girlguiding unit. Alongside this, Commissioners are having to actively advise units to update their risk assessments for trips into public spaces, given the risk of negative public attention in the wake of the policy change. This means that this policy change has caused an increased risk of harm to girls and therefore breaches good safeguarding practice. This week, Girlguiding issued further advice following the policy change, requesting that Risk Assessments be updated ahead of the annual Girlguiding screening this weekend at participating Odeon cinemas.Â
"It's sensible to consider what actions you would take to mitigate any targeted abuse or hostility. Our advice is to move girls away from the situation and immediately report to the police, notify the home contact and escalate to the emergency line if you require any additional support."Â
This type of advice has never been issued in previous years. This indicates that this policy change has caused an increased risk of harm to girls and therefore breaches good safeguarding practice.
How you can support this matter
As Girlguiding UK maintains that its new policy of trans exclusion was prompted by the 2025 Supreme Court ruling, which is being put forward as a bill to parliament, I urge you to condemn the act due to the discrimination it has already caused and will continue to cause against those within the Trans community. I also request that you support the withdrawal of the poorly written guidance on same sex spaces and push for any new guidance to be outwardly inclusive of trans people. Significant pressure needs to be put on the Minister for Women and Equalities, as they are the one who has allowed the Supreme Court ruling to exist and be misused.
Therefore, I urge you to take concrete steps to support transgender individuals by writing to your elected officials. Push them to advocate for inclusive policies and oppose discriminatory practices within youth organisations like Girlguiding UK.
Demand that they take the following steps to protect the rights of trans youth to be included and accepted alongside their cisgender peers;
Raise this issue with Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State for Equalities, asking whether the UK Government believes Girlguidingâs exclusion of trans children is compatible with the Equality Act 2010, particularly in relation to indirect discrimination and proportionality.
Ask the UK Government to clarify its position on single-sex exemptions under the Equality Act, including whether blanket exclusions of trans children are lawful and whether guidance will be updated in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling.Â
Write to the Charity Commission to request that they examine whether Girlguidingâs policy is consistent with charity law, trustee duties, safeguarding obligations, and the requirement not to discriminate against children.Â
Write directly to Girlguiding UK to ask what evidence they have for introducing a blanket ban on trans children, and to request their legal justification for this policy in light of the Equality Act.Â
Lodge Written Parliamentary Questions to the Minister for Women and Equalities or the Minister for Equalities, asking what protections exist for trans children in youth organisations and how the Government intends to monitor discriminatory membership policies.Â
Ask the UK Government what assessment it has made of its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and whether allowing charities to exclude trans children is compatible with Articles 2 and 12.Â
Support calls for updated statutory guidance for charities and youth organisations on Equality Act compliance when setting membership criteria that affect children.Â
Consider requesting a Westminster Hall debate on this issue to highlight the safeguarding risks and discriminatory impact of the policy on trans children and on volunteers across the UK.
You can also add your name to the petition calling for Girlguiding UK to revoke their decision. In the five days since the policy change was announced, the petition has already reached 30,000 signatures, which shows the level of opposition this discriminatory decision is facing.Â
Allow transgender women and girls back into GirlGuiding UK
If protests are your thing, @guidingforall on Instagram and TikTok are organising protests at various regional Guiding Headquarters to show our support and solidarity with the trans and non-binary Guiding community.
https://www.instagram.com/guidingforall/
https://www.tiktok.com/@guidingforall
