Girlguiding says it has no clue how many trans girls it will exclude under ban

In the wake of Girlguiding’s trans ban, the organisation has revealed to PinkNews that it does not have data on the number of trans girls who are members and will – as a result – be barred from participation.

Earlier this week, Girlguiding, the national governing charity that oversees girl guide groups in the UK, announced it had made the “difficult decision” to ban all trans girls, citing the controversial Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of ‘sex’.

The decision has been met with wide-ranging condemnation, with a petition published just hours after the announcement already amassing thousands of signatures and protests planned in major cities around the UK.

Trans girls were first officially allowed to become members of the organisation and join its groups, which includes Rainbows, Brownies, and Guides and Rangers, in 2017 after it passed new guidelines aimed at supporting “all girls and young women”. The chief executive at the time, Julie Bentley, said the rule change meant Girlguiding would “welcome any young person who self-identifies as a girl or young woman”.

This inclusive policy has now been revoked, with Girlguiding’s Board of Trustees explaining the decision was made following “detailed considerations”, “expert legal advice” and feedback from members.

As a consequence, the organisation’s updated equality and diversity policy now states it will only accept “biologically female” members regardless of “however they identify” – so this includes trans boys – as this is “in line with the Equality Act 2010 definition”, as per the Supreme Court ruling.

In the wake of the announcement, PinkNews approached Girlguiding to clarify how many trans girls are currently involved in the organisation at all levels and would be directly impacted by the ban.

A spokesperson for the organisation informed PinkNews that such information is “not data we have had a need to collect historically”.

In turn, PinkNews asked how – without such data – the organisation is going to establish who is, or is not, trans and indeed enforce the ban. PinkNews received no response from Girlguilding in regards to this follow-up query.

The decision to ban trans girls from Girlguiding comes following the controversial Supreme Court decision on ‘sex’ which was handed down in April, and has had wide-ranging implications for the trans community.

The judgement, which was given in the case of For Women Scotland vs Scottish Ministers, ruled the definition of “sex” for the purposes of the 2010 Equality Act means “biological sex” only and excludes trans people.

In the wake of the decision, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) – the UK’s human rights watchdog – published interim guidance that recommended organisations, businesses and service providers prevent trans men and women from using single-sex services and spaces, such as changing rooms and toilets, which aligned with their gender. It also added in “some circumstances” trans people could be barred from spaces that align with their “biological sex” as well.

The EHRC later clarified these “circumstances” referred to situations where “reasonable objection” could be taken to a trans person’s presence, such as in female spaces, when “the gender reassignment process has given [a trans man] a masculine appearance or attributes”.

In recent months, several organisations and businesses have already sought to bar trans people from single-sex spaces and services on the basis of the ruling, including the Football Association (FA) and Women’s Institute (WI).

Trans, LGBTQ+ and wider human rights organisations – as well as some MPs – have all warned that such measures could lead to the “widespread exclusion” of trans people from public life.

The EHRC sent the finished version of its code of practice to equalities minister Bridget Phillipson in September and a leak published in The Times showed it closely resembled the interim version, while later leaks – published on Trans Day of Remembrance (20 November) – suggested service providers will be given the right to ban people from gendered facilities based on their appearance alone.

Despite criticism, the final version has not yet been made public but the interim guidance has been removed from the EHRC website.

In its announcement, Girlguiding confirmed adults roles within the organisation are open to any gender and so it is “confident that no volunteers will have to leave the organisation”.

“This is a decision we would have preferred not to make, and we know that this may be upsetting for members of our community,” the organisation said in the statement.

“Girlguiding believes strongly in our value of inclusion, and we will continue to support young people and adults in marginalised groups,” it added. “Over the next few months, we will explore opportunities to champion this value and actively support young people who need us.”

In a statement shared on Thursday (4 December), Helen Belcher, chair of TransActual, condemned Girlguiding and the WI’s bans on trans girls and women taking part.

Belcher said the WI is the “second national charity in as many days which has been pushed to force out trans people, against the organisation’s will and at great cost”.

“This is the result of a handful of extremists imposing their views”

“If these changes must be forced on organisations, then it’s clear this is the result of a handful of extremists imposing their views on groups which have been very happily trans inclusive for many years if not decades.

“This government has allowed the EHRC to impose the most extreme interpretation of the supreme court ruling on the country and upend equalities law to exclude trans people from civil society without any democratic input from MPs. This is costly and unworkable for most charities and venues who cannot afford to take legal advice or fight off vexatious claims.

“Our thoughts are with the people who may be outed by their exclusion, or lose access to their vital social groups and support networks at a time when those are more important than ever. This Government must be held responsible for the long-lasting damage they are doing to a generation of LGBTQ+ people. This is mere cruelty to exclude trans people from doing the things they love with the people who love them.

“This is the outcome of the EHRC’s decision to propose a blanket ban on trans inclusion in private as well as public organisations. This government needs urgently to rectify the situation before more beloved charities and national institutions are forced into applying discriminatory policies which go against their values. This is harming Britain’s institutions greatly at a time when they are already stretched to breaking point.”