Defining sex in Wales

Cathy Larkman

What is a woman? This apparently simple question causes even the most seasoned politicians to visibly panic and flounder.

From the Prime Minister attempting to calculate the percentage of women who have a penis to our own First Minister Eluned Morgan angrily accusing Darren Millar MS of engaging in a ‘culture war’ during FMQs earlier this year.

Notably, she didn’t actually answer the question herself.

Senedd Members, however, will soon be able to get essential and long overdue clarity on this question, thanks to an event jointly organised by grassroots feminist groups Wales Women’s Rights Network and Merched Cymru.

Sponsored by Natasha Asghar MS, the event on October 15 brings together an expert panel comprising some of the key players in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers, which resulted in the Supreme Court ruling unanimously that ‘woman’, ‘man’ and ‘sex’ for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex.

Susan Smith, Co-director of For Women Scotland, Kate Barker, CEO of LGB Alliance, one of the three groups that intervened on behalf of lesbians, and specialist discrimination and employment barrister Naomi Cunningham will look at the events leading up to the case, and what the judgment means for Welsh Government and other public bodies in Wales.

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Sharron Davies

Members of the public will also have the opportunity to hear from the panel at an evening event chaired by Olympic medallist and campaigner for fairness in women’s sports Sharron Davies, at the New Plaza Port Talbot. Tickets are available here: Defining Sex - What the Supreme Court ruling means for women's rights in Wales.

The landmark Supreme Court ruling followed years of hard work and campaigning by grassroots feminists, culminating in the legal action brought by For Women Scotland, and the ramifications for women’s spaces and services are significant.

Not only do the terms ‘man’, ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ carry their ordinary biological meaning, but this has always been the case. This means that any interpretation of ‘woman’ that includes men who identify as women – even if they have a gender recognition certificate - are invalid and always have been. Any organisation that has provided single sex services on this basis has therefore been acting unlawfully.

The ruling left public bodies reeling. The First Minister was quick to confirm that "the Welsh Government respects the decision of the Supreme Court. We will take the time to consider the judgment carefully”. Despite this, more than five months later, the Welsh Government has yet to make a single change to any of its policies.

Both events represent an important opportunity to not only understand the appalling consequences that years of failures in leadership and deliberate misinterpretation of the law have had on the human rights of women and girls, but to make sure that this overreach and wilful misinterpretation is now put right without further delay”.

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Damning indictment

Women’s campaigners have been proved right. It is a damning indictment that there were so many in authority who were prepared to support female prisoners being incarcerated with violent males, vulnerable women being placed in mixed sex hospital wards, men participating in women’s and girls’ sport and sharing their changing rooms, to cite just a few examples”.

Women are 51% of the electorate. There really are no more excuses now. The law is crystal clear.

We hope that our private event at the Senedd brushes away all the excuses and ensures action instead. MSs who take the opportunity to attend, or send a representative are making a statement that they at least are genuinely committed to women’s rights”.

Ali Morris of Merched Cymru said: “Tackling discrimination and violence against women and girls depends on us being able to define what a woman is. For too long, women have faced intimidation, slander and threats to their personal safety and careers simply for stating what the Supreme Court has set out so unequivocally – that sex means biological sex.

“Generations of women fought for sex-based rights and protections to enable us to play a full part in society, yet we saw those rights rapidly eroded by stealth by a regressive movement that prioritised some people’s feelings over the material reality of sex. We are saying ‘no more’. Our government and public bodies have to step up and make sure that their duties towards women and girls are fully compliant with the law as confirmed by the Supreme Court.”

Cathy Larkman is Director and Policing Lead of the Women’s Rights Network