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Gender critical group protests against Welsh Governments 'failure' to implement Supreme Court ruling

By Mark Mansfield
Cathy Larkman

Martin Shipton

A protest aimed at highlighting the Welsh Government’s “inaction” since the Supreme Court’s ‘What is a woman?’ ruling in April is due to take place outside the Senedd.

Members of the gender critical Women’s Rights Network (WRN) in Wales will gather outside the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff Bay at noon on Tuesday June 24.

They say they will make the point that 70 days have elapsed since the highest court in the UK ruled that ‘woman’, ‘man’ and ‘sex’ should be given their ordinary biological meaning in the Equality Act 2010 - yet the Welsh Government is still ‘considering’ the impact of the judgment and its policies remain unchanged.

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'Frustrated'

Cathy Larkman of WRN said: ”We are so frustrated with the Welsh Government. It has been over two months since the judgment, yet they are just kicking the legal can down the road.

“This is just political cowardice. Sex is binary – there are two sexes, male and female. The law is also binary – you comply with it, or you don’t. The Welsh Government is not complying with it.

“While they dither and delay, many Welsh organisations are operating policies of self-ID and permitting men in women’s spaces and services, including in changing rooms, and in some cases in women’s sports too. They haven’t done anything to protect women and girls.

“The law has spoken – no man, however he claims to ‘identify’ should be in a women-only rape crisis or domestic violence support service. No man should be in a changing room used by women and girls. No man should be in a female-only hospital ward. No woman should be confronted with a man carrying out an intimate health process, such as a mammogram, and be told that this is in fact a ‘woman’.

“Women have rights too and the Supreme Court judgment is a vindication of that. It’s time for the Welsh Government to get on with it.”

The demonstration will coincide with First Minister’s Questions (FMQs), which will take place at a nearby government building at 1.30pm that day.

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Legal action

WRN expects a question to be asked at FMQs about the delay in implementing the Supreme Court judgment, the recent letter before action sent to the Scottish Government about their own actions since the judgment, and whether the Welsh Government is also exposing itself to legal action.

The group of women will be carrying a large banner that will indicate the 70 days that have passed since the judgment took place, and will film several short pieces, before delivering a letter to the public desk inside the Senedd.

They will be met outside on the steps by some opposition Members of the Senedd, who are supportive of their attempts to ensure that the Welsh Government complies with UK law immediately, and not at some indeterminate time in the future. This will form part of the ongoing ‘Step Up Senedd’ campaign.

WRN pointed out that the Welsh Government’s flagship LGBTQ action plan still states its policy position as ‘trans women are women, trans men are men, non binary identities are valid” – a statement WRN says directly contradicts the Supreme Court ruling.

In addition, WRN insists that many policies of government-funded organisations in Wales are still not compliant with the judgment, including those of Public Health Wales and the Football Association of Wales.

Engage

The Welsh Government responded, stating: “The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations is out for consultation. We encourage all stakeholders to engage with the consultation.

“We will take the time to consider the Supreme Court judgment and the statutory guidance from the EHRC carefully and take the steps required to meet our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 as clarified by the ruling.”

 

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26 comments

Susan

Good, the reply I got from my MS was a load of rubbish, and shows they have no intention of complying with the law. If the law makers don't care about the law why should the public care about anything the law makers say. Stick 20 mph where the sun don't shine.

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Jen Raynor

Given how loudly Hutt, Drakeford and Miles declared trans women are women and trans men are men it is not surprising that they don’t want to admit that they actively and intentionally misled vulnerable people. The Supreme Court ruling on the Equality Act, clarified the issue for Starmer. In Wales our Labour politicians don’t understand the constitutional role of the Supreme Court or the impact of its decisions. Thankfully some of our local authorities are already taking action, notifying cllrs there will have to be changes and clarity in some policies, listing policies and practices which will see change to become legally compliant. While the local authorities take action it is obvious to most observers of the time limited WG that the Welsh civil servants are no longer working to follow the instructions of cabinet members who have already announced their retirement or may not get elected in less than a year. By not acting in April following the Supreme Court ruling the WG showed it is a dead duck in the water on borrowed time.

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Beth

Cathy Larkman is such a good spokeswoman for the women of Wales and beyond. My MS didn’t even answer my concerns of the anti-women legislation and policies the Labour Welsh Govt was trying to implement. We need a change of government if women are ever going to be treated fairly.

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Mrs Rosser

The Women's Rights Network in Wales really are incredible. I was there when they did their StepUpSenedd launch in May and the Words of Women speeches were so moving but so strong. Good luck to them for tomorrow. Wales is behind you. The wlesh Government is breaking the law.

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Joanne

What a shambles. The Welsh Government yet again demonstrating its complete contempt for women. Complying with the law is not optional. These women should not have to spend their time reminding this government of its duties.

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Rhian OW

Well done WRN - the pressure needs to be kept up to fall in line with the EA2010. It's the law!

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Mr B

How does this government think themselves above the law, let alone think it acceptable to confuse and mislead our young people into thinking that sex is something you can choose, that we should all work against our embodied instincts to recognise what is in front of us for the sake of ‘being kind’ and invite all manner of safeguarding issues into our public institutions. Shame on you Senedd!

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Sue Thorne

The Welsh Government's not above the law. They've had 15 years since the Equality Act became law but they decided that women's rights weren't worth any consideration in deciding policy. Now, thanks to the Supreme Court judgment, Welsh Government have to. No excuses - just get on with it!

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Gareth Westacott

Cathy Larkman is right !

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Chris Biddlecombe

Great piece Cathy Larkman and so right to call out the Welsh Assembly Government for its decidedly lacklustre and embarrassing responses (blink and you’d miss it) to the Supreme Court Judgement. Come on / it’s not transphobic to stand up for women’s rights!

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Alison

I do not understand why the Welsh govt insists on waiting for the EHRC guidance. The EHRC has issued interim guidance, which is clear, and the Supreme Court ruling is about as clear as it can be without spelling it out in words understood by toddlers. If a service is offered for women, if a space is restricted to women, this is for females only. No man, regardless of how he identifies, can access that space or service. Currently the Welsh govt appears to be breaking the law. This must change.

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Mrs B

Without women like Cathy who are prepared to lead and speak up, women will continue to be excluded in the name of ‘inclusivity’ . It’s almost as if Welsh Government have found themselves in a hole of their own making.

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Hels

Women had to fight hard for their own facilities. Men were wrongly given access under misleading guidance from organisations putting the feelings of men above the rights of women. The law has been clarified and there is no excuse not to give women what was always theirs. It reeks of misogyny to do otherwise.

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S Wilkinson

The law is absolutely clear! There's no need to wait for guidance. Get on with it Senedd! Well done Women's Rights Network.

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Jo Duffy

Well done WRN Wales, women everywhere are right behind you!

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Milo Scope

Correction: some women in the UK and the US are right behind you as well as governments in the UK, US, Russia, Hungary and Afghanistan.

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S Wilkinson

I'm afraid you've been misled by a certain activist lawyer about that. That simply isn't true.

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Tessa Marshall

Get a life and stop complaining about other people’s genitals. Trans people deserve to live with dignity and without fear of being attacked by sad, nasty TERFs. The legal argument is incoherent - the law hasn’t changed and trans people are still protected under the Equality Act, and the ruling doesn’t justify invasive strip searches or toilet genital checks, which is apparently what everyone here wants.

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S Wilkinson

What a hyperbolic reaction to a perfectly reasonable (and legal) expectation that men respect women's rights to privacy, dignity and safety. And why are trans rights campaigners so obsessed with "genital checks" - is it wishful thinking? I haven't seen any women expressing any interest in this.

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Louise B

Nobody's suggesting genital checks or strip searches. Well, apart from TRAs that is. Everybody else can tell from your face, frame and gait what sex you are. Trans people are rightly protected under the Equality Act from harassment. Asking them to respect single sex spaces intended for the other sex is not harassment.

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Becky W

You say that yet it seems people cannot "tell" and we end up in the situation where women like Caz Coronel gets assaulted because she doesn't conform to some idealised defintion of how women should dress, or Heather Fisher who gets accosted in toilets because she has alopecia and accused of being a man.

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Beth V

Dear me you have drunk the koolaid Not a single person needs to or wants to check genitals We have the super power of sight. We can identify men even when they are wearing women’s clothing. You are right the law hasn’t changed however what has happened is the Supreme Court has clarified that many public and private organisations have been wrongly interpreting the law and denying women single sex spaces The era of Stonewall law is over. And yes Trans people have not lost any rights, it’s just been clarified they can’t have women’s rights as well. As for your divisive and derogatory language of ‘sad and nasty terfs’ grow up and stop being a misogynist

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Jane

Thank you Tessa

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Hogyn y Gogledd

I do hope that all the new posters here will stick around to discuss other very important matters.

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Jayne Davies

So what part is confusing?

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Lea Lewis

At last a voice of reason. Thank you Cathy

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Cathy Larkman is such a good spokeswoman for the women of Wales and beyond. My MS didn’t even answer my concerns of the anti-women legislation and policies the Labour Welsh Govt was trying to implement. We need a change of government if wom...

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