Trans rights demonstrators gather outside the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on May 02, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland to protest their call for trans segregation after the recent ruling on biological sex by the Supreme Court in London (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
The UK’s top equality watchdog is allegedly planning to suggest that trans people be banned from all ‘single-sex’ public spaces, according to media reports published today (8 August).
A finalised version of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) guidance on gendered services, expected to be published later this month, will allegedly urge service providers to ban trans people from single-sex facilities and groups that relate to their gender identity.
Unconfirmed reports from The Times suggest that proposed changes to the guidance, issued as part of a public consultation in April, which ban trans people from using the correct facilities, including toilets and changing rooms, will not be changed.
The EHRC has not confirmed the Times’ report, and a finalised version of the guidance has yet to be published.
The human rights regulator suggested changes to its single-sex provision guidance following the FWS v Scottish Ministers Supreme Court ruling, which argued the definition of sex referred to “biological sex.”
Its proposals, which include forcing trans people to bring ID with them into toilets, have been met with major pushback from members of the public, many of whom have argued the regulations would push trans people out of public life.
Responding to the claims, the Good Law Project, who intend to challenge the EHRC’s trans guidance in court, argued the provisions would go “far beyond” what the Supreme Court judgment requires.
“It amounts to a bathroom ban for trans people, violating people’s right to privacy in their everyday lives.”
EHRC guidance to be finalised by end of August
The EHRC was similarly criticised over the length of its public consultation. It was forced to extend the consultation period to six weeks after it originally gave members of the public just two weeks to have their say.
A spokesperson for the regulator confirmed that the EHRC has received over 50,000 submissions on the proposed changes and would use the findings to amend the guidance “over the summer.”
However, EHRC representatives reportedly said during a High Court session that the regulator hopes the finalised guidance will be sent to the government by the end of August.
Once sent to the equalities minister, Bridget Phillipson, the guidance could be used to create laws that would make a bathroom ban statutory. Various groups have warned that the provisions being made statutory would make them far more difficult to push back against.
Alex Parmar-Yee of Trans+ Solidarity Alliance told PinkNews in July that the EHRC’s claim that it could consider the 50,000+ submissions in less than a month is “simply not credible.”
“This is an emergency, and we urge people to tell their MP now – this isn’t how we should make decisions about fundamental rights,” she said.