Museums 'could close' over UK watchdog guidance on single sex spaces

Daily Record

2 days ago

Museums Galleries Scotland made the claim in light of guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission
A publicly-funded body has claimed museums could shut over guidance about trans people and women's toilets.
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Museums Galleries Scotland said the 'time and resources' needed to implement new guidance by a watchdog could force closures.
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In a landmark decision in April, the Supreme Court ruled that "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex.
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The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) recently closed a consultation on proposed changes to statutory guidance in the wake of the ruling.
An interim EHRC update said trans women should not be permitted to use women's facilities and trans men should not be allowed to use men's facilities.
A response from MGS said the Commission's proposals may "risk leaving trans people with no facilities at all" if changes could not be made.
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It urged the UK-wide watchdog to understand the "impacts and needs of trans individuals and organisations committed to trans inclusion".
A consultation response from MSG said: "We have concerns that the content and process of the EHRC Code of Practice does not uphold the spirit of inclusion.
"There is no guidance on how to include trans people, there is only information on how to exclude them. This has not made sufficient effort to offer advice to organisations who wish to remain or become trans inclusive."
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The response added: "When there is a need to 'prove' your sex, what proof will be acceptable given gender recognition certificates are not, nor are altered birth certificates. It is likely this role would fall on front-of-house staff, which we believe puts undue pressure on them."
It added: "To avoid discrimination, it would require every person using toilets to be checked, adding substantial workload and staff costs.
"The guidance implies that to allow trans people to use toilets that fit their identity would put organisations at risk of legal consequences. Yet, to not check everyone could lead to individuals in museums taking decisions to exclude trans people based on subjective tests, related largely to appearance."
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It also warned that some museums may be forced to close "while they invest time and resources to ensure adequate facilities".
The response said MSG was aware of the public "policing toilets at heritage sites by making assumptions based on stereotypes".
They said this created an "environment of suspicion and policing of everyone's gender presentation'.
The response concluded: "We strongly encourage the EHRC to review their processes around this guidance and take the necessary time to understand the impacts and needs of trans individuals and organisations committed to trans inclusion."
However, a spokesperson for analysts MurrayBlackburnMackenzie said: 'It is deeply concerning that a major national institution signed off and submitted such an ill-informed response to the EHRC consultation. The response fails to consider the needs of women and instead repeats trans activist talking points.'