EHRC advises Schools NOT to implement the Governments Transgender Guidance… but still refuses to stand up to protect trans lives.
Trigger Warning: this article has reference and links to stories about suicide
In a letter received by TransLucent from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), dated 12th April, they have made it perfectly clear to us that they believe Schools and Colleges should NOT currently be implementing the Government’s guidelines as published in December 2023 (Gender Questioning Children – Non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England).
This communication was sent to us having been previously promised a face-to-face meeting to discuss various key issues with the EHRC. This was to question their role in advising and assisting the Government’s proposed changes to the Equality Act and the implementation of the Government’s Schools Transgender Policy, both of which would have seriously harmful implications for the trans community.
We had agreed a date to meet on 28th February 2024, and given the importance of the issues at hand, the EHRC confirmed to us this would be attended by Chairwoman Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Commissioners Akua Reindorf and Jess Butcher, and Deputy CEO John Kirkpatrick. Given the gravity of the situation, we understandably needed the assurance that the EHRC would enable us to meet with those who could directly answer and respectfully discuss the issues at hand, rather than lower level representation who would listen, take notes and report back; this would have meant no meaningful answers or explanations would have been given and then discussed, and so little or no point to the meeting.
However, just two? days before our scheduled meeting, we were informed that Baroness Falkner was no longer available. When we enquired, it was further revealed that our meeting would now not be with any EHRC Commissioners present.
The removal of any meaningful attendees therefore effectively cancelled our meeting, as stated, there was nothing to be gained from a meeting without Commissioners being present. This was truly disappointing, especially in light of the UN’s requirement that the EHRC meet with all stakeholders as part of their attempt to retain their ‘A status’ accreditation.
We would therefore have thought that the EHRC would have been keen to rearrange, but evidently not, as our only firm invitation now was to communicate in writing. A pointless exercise as only a face to face meeting will enable all issues to be properly discussed.
However, in our last email requesting the urgent rescheduling, we did raise an additional question following the recent Employment Tribunal Ruling that has dramatic implications for the legality of the Governments schools trans guidance. Our question was raised as follows:
“In light of the Lister Employment Tribunal ruling this week, it is now clear that the Government’s school guidelines ‘Gender Questioning Children – Non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England’ as published in December 2023, are unlawful, specifically their entire guidance in 6.3, Pronouns. We do not believe it acceptable that our Government is issuing advice to schools and teachers that now clearly contravenes the Equality Act protections of Gender Reassignment.
We therefore request that the EHRC join us in our demands that the Government immediately halt their consultation process and withdraw their unlawful guidance with immediate effect to ensure that no further harm or removal of rights are inflicted on transgender children.”
We cannot see any justification for the consultation continuing in its present form now the law has been clearly tested and the position being that the Government is setting guidelines that encourage schools and teachers to break the law. The only viable position would be to halt the consultation to remove anything that clearly contravenes the Equality Act, and the consultation re-commence with only lawful guidance.
On 12th April the EHRC responded, and this was their reply:
“We are aware of the judgement in the Lister case at Bristol Employment Tribunal, and its potential to have implications in this policy area….
The document published for the purposes of consultation has not been issued to schools and teachers as guidance to be followed at this stage”
So there we have it – their guidance document had not been issued ‘to be followed at this stage.
So the EHRC is advising that no schools or colleges should be taking any action on the Government’s guidelines before the conclusion of the full consultation process.
The Lister ruling upheld that a teacher could not wilfully misgender and deadname a student as per the rights and protections of the Equality Act. Given that the specific advice of the Government is for schools/teachers to do precisely that, there is no doubt that their advice is unlawful. So given that our EHRC is entrusted to hold our Government to account, there is also little doubt that they should be holding the Government to account by now advising the Government to halt a consultation seeking to encourage schools to break the law. We do not expect the guidelines to be scrapped altogether, as schools do need help in this highly complex area; all we seek is that a consultation including unlawful advice be halted and amended so its guidance is lawful. But their response:
“.. we would not support a halt to the consultation process on this document”
Their letter went on to state:
“As we set out in our response to the consultation, we think that it is important that there is clear information and guidance for schools and colleges in this area in order to help them to balance pupils’ rights and avoid discriminatory practices.”
So the EHRC’s position, whose role is to uphold the enforcement of the Equality Act, is to claim that the way to ensure there is ‘clear information and guidance for schools and colleges’ is to simply brush aside that recommendations within the Government guidelines contravene the Equality Act.
It makes absolutely no sense, and had we been afforded the ability to meet and discuss these matters we might have been able to understand how they could justify this. But we have not been given another date and we now hold out little hope that we will be.
But why would our EHRC decline to ensure a Government consultation includes advice that is not unlawful and incredibly harmful to a minority who rely on them for protection of their rights?
Is this yet another example of the EHRC simply acting as the mouthpiece of the Government who appointed them. Rather than being responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, are they in fact being complicit in trying to help the Government ignore the Equality Act at the expense of a minority that this Government has openly mocked and targeted?
As an organisation we have tried in good faith to work with the EHRC, but the bottom line is that this is not about us. If the EHRC will not meet face to face with us, so be it. This is about those the EHRC are disgracefully failing, and when it is children they are failing we believe this simply scandalous.
In an article last week from The Standard came a heartbreaking plight of trans kids in Scotland.
Happiness of trans young people falls to lowest level in decade, says charity
“Young transgender people in Scotland have reported the lowest level of happiness in a decade, a charity’s survey has revealed amid what it calls an “unacceptable” level of intolerance.
A report by LGBT Youth Scotland showed happiness among the young transgender community has halved from 2012 until 2022, from 59% to 28%.The charity, which surveyed more than 1,200 Scots aged between 13 and 25, highlighted 40% felt unsafe using public transport, while one in five had left education because of transphobia.
It comes after a number of high-profile politicians urged the Scottish Government to suspend the use of puberty blockers and hormones after the Cass Review into children’s gender care in England found “unclear” evidence into the treatment.”
Is there any more evidence needed that the EHRC is failing the very people they are employed to protect? Trans kids are seeing their rights to live as their true identity at school under direct attack by the Government, and their ability to access and receive any kind of professional healthcare (that is recognised around the world) being systematically removed and denied.
We at TransLucent are painfully aware of the tragic loss of Caroline and Peter Litman, who spoke so courageously about the loss of their daughter, Alice, at our November ‘Why?’ Conference;
- Alice Litman, 20, was facing a five-year wait for a gender identity assessment when she died. ‘She just wanted to live how she wanted to’
And Alice was not alone to lose all hope. - Charlie Millers, a 17-year-old trans boy had been bullied at school and misgendered by healthcare staff in the five years up to his taking of his own life
- Jason Pulman,15, a trans teen took his own life while on the NHS gender clinic waiting list for 2 years. A jury inquest has concluded that systemic failures could have contributed to his death
When trans kids’ happiness is identified at an all-time low with all hope being removed of any kind of positive future, the outcome is incredibly bleak and the inherent dangers are painfully clear for all to see. And following the seriously flawed, Gender Critical biased, Cass report that is receiving almost universal condemnation from around the world, the pressure on trans kids mental health will undoubtedly be growing by the day.
Trans kids, along with trans adults, need to know that the EHRC is there for them, looking after and protecting their rights when they are at their most vulnerable. But how can we come to any such conclusion that this is currently their aim or intention? And it’s not as if this has gone unnoticed outside of the UK, as there is a good reason why UK’s EHRC is fearing a highly likely downgrading by the UN.
How much longer can our EHRC continue to fail in its duty, and how many more families need to be devastatingly torn apart?