Is your business / service classed as a single sex space under the equality act 2010.

The EQ2010 act was written with inclusion in mind and a balance was set to satisfy the equality rights for all the 9 protected charicteristices which include:

Gender Reassignment (Trans Women and Trans Men and Non-binary people who have taken steps to changed charicteristics associated with their birth sex)

Sex Women, Men and gender non*conforming people)

Sexuality (sexual attraction to another person)

Belief (Belief or non-belief in a relegion or philosophical beliefs. To qualify as a protected “philosophical belief,” your conviction must meet specific legal criteria, they must not conflict with the fundamental rights of others)

The Statutorty Guidance for service providers to prevent discrimination was published in 2011. For those with the protected charicteristic of Gender Reasignment it advised service providers should treat trans people as the sex of their lived gender, so a trans women would be female, and a trans man would be male, there was no clacification for non-binary identities but depending on circumstances they could still be covered to prevent discrimination under the Gender Charicteristic criteria. Trans people were also covered by the other applicable charicteristics for them, plus if they had reassigned their legal sex through the application of a Gender Recognicial Certificate they would legally the sex of their lived gender, ie a Trans women would legally be a Woman and a Trans Man would legally be a Man.

A trans person with or without a GRC could be legaly refused access to a single sex service as classified under the equality act if it was proportional to achive a legitimate aim. Toilets and changing rooms not withing a single sex service were usually not classed as a single sex service for the puposes of the act as it was not considered proportional to restrict access for trans people to the toilet or changing facility that matched their lived gender. This situation has been in place for decades without the hostility we see on social media or affecting the safety of women and girls in those spaces, above the threat level of being attacked in any location by any another person.

Under this 2026 proposed guidance for the application of the EA20010, the settled discrimination law has been turned on it head for trans people. It leaves service providers in a position where they are being advised to stop trans women using womens facilities or trans men using male or in some cases womens facilities with a threat of legal action for discrimination on the grounds of sex or belief thorugh the courts system, or if they dont provide services for trans people a threat of legal action for discrimination for gender reasignment. Businesses are saying its an impossible conundrum to solve to provide suitable in some buildings provide adiquate facilities whic may end up with male and female facilities becoming unisex.

the proposed guidance leaves trans people being classed as a 3rd gender and open to public scrutiny stigmatised, open to abuse and umiliation, not the dignity, respect and humanity they deserve for what is the outcome of a recognised medical condition of gender incongruence. This is against the Human Rights of trans people under ECHR law.

Service providers need to decide is their service truly a single sex service under the equality act? can it be proportional to restrict access to the service by a trans person, or would it be proportional to make a policy for the inclusion of trans people, for instance a service for women (cis women including trans women) not including cis men or trans men and a service for men ( inclusive of cis men and trans men) not including cis women or trans women.

We don’t want to go back to the anti LGBTQIA+ laws of the past.

it’s 38 years since Section 28 was introduced by the Conservative Party. Now Labour is about to introduce their own version of Section 28 for the Trans community, under the guise of the EHRC Statutory Guidance for Service Providers for the 2010 Equality Act and the Statutory Guidance on Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education. Back in the 80s, 90s, and 00s, I would not have thought it was possible that a Labour government would condone, let alone instigate their own version of Section 28.

I am calling on everyone who believes these policies are wrong to send a letter or an email to their MP to ask them to fight against these policies of division. I ask my friends to support trans people you know by asking your employers and service providers to have inclusive policies. For members of the Labour Party to voice your opposition, to the Union movement to mobilise and stand with LGBTQIA+ people in this fight for justice. To all those who are already supporting the trans community, thank you. This could be a long, hard fight, but with your support not only will we survive, but we will win the day.

Hilary Cooke, Chair of Medway Pride C.I.C