Groundhog Day
By JL
Only two months ago Women & Equalities Minister, Liz Truss, announced the government’s response to a consultation on the reform of the Gender Recognition Act.
On Wednesday the Women & Equalities Committee announced that there’s going to be yet another inquiry into GRA reform and “Other trans equality issues”.
The statement on its website reads:
“The Government has published its proposals for changes to the gender recognition process and set out how it plans to move forward. The Women and Equalities Committee will examine these proposals, gathering evidence on whether the Government’s proposed changes are the right ones and whether they go far enough.”
Further information is given regarding the specific areas under discussion:
The inquiry is questioning the need for a diagnosis of dysphoria and a two year period of ‘living in their acquired gender’ before a GRC is granted.
It is also arguing that the ‘spousal consent’ provision in the Act may need reforming or even removing altogether.
Perhaps of most concern is the suggestion that the provisions made in the Equality Act 2010 for single sex spaces, including domestic and sexual violence support services, ‘need reform’.
You will notice that there is no mention of the impact on or need to support women’s rights and needs.
Caroline Nokes is the Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North. She is also the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee.
On Wednesday her article, “It is time to end the delays over trans equality”, was published in The Times.
It seems the goals of this inquiry may have already been decided.
As Kathleen Stock points out, the previous GRA Inquiry was a ‘total stitch-up’. Her WPUK talk in the House of Lords from 2018 highlights its failures.
Please make your voices heard and respond to the Call for Evidence.
We must ensure we’re not stitched up again.
Sorry, Graham. Why are we going through all this AGAIN? A new consultation feels to me like GAS-LIGHTING by Stonewall, Mermaids, Gendered Intelligence, Trans Media Watch, Alex Drummond (can't remember his group), etc. etc. There are more "Trans" lobbyists than there are days in the year. They are bad losers. We "won" a standstill on the GRA 2004. That was the best we could hope for at the moment, with the firm intention of carrying on the fight to rid ourselves of this logically absurd and insane piece of legislation.
Can't we just say: "Ya! Boo! Sucks. You lost!" ? It is that level of childishness.
By the way did you see this in the i-news: https://inews.co.uk/news/media/bbc-staff-suspended-attend-lgbt-pride-events-ban-new-impartiality-rules-742247
I nearly fell off my chair.
They're doubling-down. Well ... two can play at that game. Shall we say it louder?