“Gender and Sex Politics Will Influence Our Vote”

4 hours ago

People on both sides of the gender rights and gender recognition debate have told the BBC that political parties’ stance on the issues will determine how they vote on July 4.

Louise, 53, from Buckinghamshire, said she wants to see single-sex spaces “protected”, particularly in places like prisons, changing rooms and sports facilities.

Photo Title, Louise said she did not want her views to be “dismissed” as part of a “culture war”

Louise would like any new government to amend the Equality Act 2010 to specify that existing legal protections around gender apply to “biological sex”, so certain spaces would be restricted to people whose gender at birth was female.

She believed it was important to protect women’s “privacy, dignity and safety.”

Louise said she grew up knowing that women in the 1960s and 1970s fought for their rights in terms of labor laws, contraception and economic freedom.

“My friends and I knew that women couldn’t open a bank account in their own name,” she said.

She remembers “a time when it seemed like the fight was over,” citing examples of women in the 1980s who “smashed the glass ceiling,” but now feels that “the progress that women fought long and hard for is being undone.”

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These plans aim to speed up the gender reassignment process for people who want to legally change their gender.

Louise said that although she had always voted Labour before, she now “can’t vote for them”.

“It was shocking,” Louise said.

The case has left her “politically homeless” and she now doesn’t know who to vote for.

She added that while she disagrees with the Conservatives on many issues, she supports the work of Kemi Badenoch, acting minister for women and equalities, to implement the recommendations of the Cass review.

Photo Title, Aqua Moye wanted to introduce “self-identification” that would not require a medical diagnosis

Aqua Moye, a 22-year-old who identifies as transgender and non-binary, would like to see the new UK government pass a gender reform bill that would allow for “self-identification” by taking up the law passed by the Scottish Parliament.

Under current UK law, people wishing to change their legal gender must provide a medical certificate – however, Scottish law does not require this.

Aqua says it opposes medical certification due to the lengthy process that results from the very limited number of clinics for people with gender dysphoria.

“I am currently on a waiting list, I signed up two years ago, and it could take eight to 10 years before I am accepted,” they said.

They said they knew of people who joined the queue in 2016 who were only now receiving treatment, “and as the number of people being referred increases, the waiting list continues to grow”.

The delay forced them to look for a private clinic.

Aqua said not being able to see a specialist and begin the process of legally changing gender had a “huge impact” on their mental health and left them feeling depressed.

They said they know of many transgender people who choose to buy hormones online because of the long wait times for treatment, which can be extremely dangerous.

Aqua, a first-time voter, said this issue would ultimately decide which party they would vote for.

Although the parties most closely aligned with their views are the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, Aqua said she did not think either party would have a chance of forming the next government.

What do the parties say?

This Conservatives stated that gender recognition would remain a reserved competence for the UK government, meaning the devolved parliaments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would not be able to introduce their own system.

It added that it would be “guided by biology, not ideology”, and maintained the existing need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and proof that the person has lived in their acquired gender for at least two years.

The party would not allow gender identity teaching in schools and would prevent children from “medically transitioning”, for example by taking puberty blockers.

Work has abandoned plans to introduce self-identification and will continue to require a medical diagnosis to obtain a gender recognition certificate.

However, the company announced that it intends to “simplify and streamline” the system and scrap the requirement to provide proof of life as a specific gender in favour of a “two-year reflection period”.

The party said it would maintain “single-sex exemptions” to protect women-only spaces, but did not confirm whether it would allow gender identity teaching in schools.

Currently, the regulations allow for single-sex spaces, but if someone has a Gender Recognition Certificate (and not just identifies in a certain way) they can use them.

This Liberal Democrat The manifesto supported the introduction of self-identification of gender and the abolition of the requirement to obtain a medical diagnosis in order to legally change gender.

The party said it would also recognise “non-binary identities” – people who identify as neither male nor female.

Similarly, the Green Party has announced it will introduce personal identification and recognise the identity of non-binary people, as well as allowing transgender people who become parents to choose whether their child’s birth certificate will be signed “mother/father/parent”.

The Reform UK bill aims to introduce mandatory opposite-sex-only spaces in public toilets and changing rooms.

What really matters to you in this general election? What is the one issue that will influence your vote? Click the button below to submit your idea and it could be featured on the BBC.

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