We have been inundated with suggestions for blog posts. The interest in women’s rights and how the legal system works (or not) for women is phenomenal. Below is a brief snapshot of the questions that have been posed. Whilst we do not propose to tackle every query we wanted to make record of the concerns raised. You have given us much to consider and we have reached out to the legal community, some of whom posed these questions, asking them for their input.
Do please contact us if you have legal expertise in any of the issues below and refer to our manifesto which sets out how we intend to host guest blogs and encourage debate. Let’s get started!
1. A suggested code of conduct for companies to deal with organised mass complaints, for example calls to cancel speakers and/or employees as well as complaints related to feminist opinions expressed on social media Done
2. The necessity of sex disaggregation of statistical data in relation to medical research, PPE being not fit for female users
3. Clarity as to whether legal points affect England and Wales only or Scotland and Northern Ireland too.
4. Discrimination in public toilet provision with particular focus on pissoirs recently made available to men in central London whilst all other facilities remain closed. Whether public building refurbishments provide sufficient facilities for women.
5. Effects of self ID on sex-based rights in the Equality Act
6. Safeguarding in the context of self-declaration of gender. Is it no longer possible to challenge men in the female toilets. Reprimands have been issued for suggesting men can be challenged, would a challenging staff member be sacked? Likewise what is the situation with regards to police officers observing members of the opposite sex accessing female only spaces? Does a police officer have a duty of care to protect the public by challenging a male- bodied service user?
7. Analysis of the Maya Forstater judgement in relation to the Gender Recognition Act and the legal fiction of state recognised sex change. (Probably best done now after the the EAT has heard the case and given judgment.)
8. How police are reporting transgender women’s crimes as women’s crimes. Is this a conflict with the public sector equality duty.
9. Should public sector organisations collect data by gender but not by sex? Is this a breach of the public sector equality duty? Do companies bear a litigation risk if they collect diversity data using the wording from the equality act or should they be referring to gender and gender identity?
10. Porn, prostitution, strip joints, surrogacy also sex robots, family courts, parental alienation by fathers, single parenthood
11. Female genital mutilation
12. Is it legally okay for Twitter to ban hateful conduct on the basis of gender but not on the basis of sex?
13. Analysis of intersectionality of sex with racial injustice and domination
14. How family law and the family court discriminate against women
15. Violence against women to be considered as a potential hate crime
16. The EHRC statutory codes to the Equality Act
17. If an individual gets a place on a course scheme mentoring plan intended to promote the inclusion of women or promote visibility and they are not legally female could that be challenged on the basis of sex?
18. UK wide analysis of the difference in law across devolved nations affecting women for example domestic abuse laws are different but also different entitlements to social care and increasingly separate approach to social security in Scotland
19. Treatment of rape survivors in court together with use of telephone data
20. The rough sex defence
21. Discrimination against lesbian feminists by crowd funding organisations?
22. Scotland’s and hate crime bill consultation
23. Access to funding and issues of costs
24. Schools and child attendance. It is disproportionately women that are prosecuted trying to get teenage boys to go to school often result in violence towards mothers. What is the role of the school in putting mother in danger. Schools are insisting that women in abusive relationships attend school meetings with their abusers.
25. CPS filtering Domestic Abuse cases.
26. Legal progress in relation to coercive control affected convictions
27. COVID-19 and sex imbalance
28. Women’s pensions
29. Gender pay gap reporting
30. Gendered marketing
31. The Nordic model
32. Proposed Scottish legislation on hate crimes
33. Is the legal profession sexist?
34. Family courts and contact arrangements
35. RSE education in schools, which is often not based on scientific facts. With particular focus on the child in Scotland who was expelled from his school for stating that there are only two genders
36. Should an unborn child have legal protection from harm while in utero from their mother smoking, drinking, alcohol, drug use and healthy eating if so how does this work
37. Is it possible to repeal the GRA now that same and opposite sexes have rights to marry and become civil partners
38. What rights do female athletes have have to object to playing against a male bodied individual. How would sports insurance be affected if a male-bodied team player is fielded? Relatedly
- If a sports referee felt that male body team players were a safety issue would they have responsibility in relation to insurance?
- Could the referee risk being sacked if they refused to allow the male player to take part. Is it possible to take into account the risk of injury likely due to a miss match in speed height and all strengths?
- Can players object to Sharing changing rooms with male bodied players
- World Rugby has recently undertaken consultation on these issues Done (in part)
39. School toilets bathrooms and changing rooms: what proportion of the spaces must be single sex? How can schools be persuaded to ensure these spaces remain single sex?
40. Can we set up a crowd funder for legal cases?
41. What are the implication about children identifying as the opposite sex for example in girl guiding. Are there are safeguarding concerns and is there a conflict between safeguarding and sex or gender reassignment discrimination?
42. If a union decides not to represent and member in a claim against the company in relation to the conflict between sex and gender reassignment-based rights would it be discriminating against the member?
43. Can a woman’s aid shelter only employ women and can it refuse to employ transwomen?
44. What is the proper remedy when a company is found to have discriminated against male staff? Should it pay them off or face lawsuits by men who see they are being discriminated against.
45. What are sex-based rights?
46. Hohfeld in the toilet: rights, liberties and single-sex spaces