WRN police the police

In another victory for the Terven, Women’s Rights Network (WRN) has forced Gwent Police to abandon an unlawful policy allowing gender self-identification into single-sex spaces.

But while the old policy has been revoked, the Welsh force is still consulting unnamed internal staff networks on its replacement. That consultation is likely to include Gwent Police’s LGBTQ staff network. Sex-realist police groups in England and Wales do not enjoy equivalent formal recognition within the force, despite Police SEEN Scotland being recognised as a Diversity Staff Association last week.

Gwent Police’s former Transitioning in the Workplace policy declared that “trans members of staff are entitled to use the facilities of the gender in which they present”.

In practice, male officers identifying as women could use female toilets, changing rooms and showers from “the first day that they present in that gender”.

Police employees who objected were warned: “It is not acceptable to insist that a member of staff transitioning at work should use separate facilities.”

WRN obtained the policy through a Freedom of Information request. On 31st May, the organisation announced it had served Gwent Police with a letter before action.

The policy was incompatible with the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s updated code of practice, which makes clear that single-sex facilities must be provided on the basis of biological sex. The code followed last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling that “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to biological sex.

Cathy Larkman, WRN director and national policing lead, told TERF Times that Gwent Police had previously been alerted to the policy by WRN Wales.

“This policy was only withdrawn AFTER the threat of legal action by WRN, not because Gwent police realised it was the right thing to do. In addition, WRN Wales had drawn the unlawful policy to the attention of the Chief Constable before that but had been rebuffed. The arrogance and intransigence is just astonishing.”

She added: “The fact that the police would rather break the law than offend their staff trans activist networks should give us all nightmares. And the fact that they have so little regard for the rights of their female officers and staff, and female visitors to their stations is sickening”.

In a comment to the Daily Mail, a Gwent Police spokesman said the Trans Inclusion Policy had been revoked “a number of months ago”.

He said: “Our Trans Inclusion Policy has been reviewed in light of recent Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on public spaces, and we await further guidance on workplaces.

“A revised policy is currently out for consultation with our staff networks and will be published following this process.”