Legal Matters

Scotland

Single-sex spaces such as toilets and changing rooms should be used according to biological sex, under new guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and approved by ministers. The code of practice, published following last year's Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman under the Equality Act, states that transgender people should instead be offered access to gender-neutral or separate facilities where possible. The guidance applies to a wide range of public settings, including shops, gyms, hospitals and restaurants, and recommends that gender-neutral facilities be self-contained and fully lockable. Women and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson said the aim was to provide organisations with "clear, accessible guidance" while ensuring people could live free from discrimination and harassment. The EHRC said denying transgender people access to any facilities at all could be discriminatory, and suggested businesses could adapt existing spaces, such as disabled toilets, to meet the requirements. While groups including For Women Scotland and Sex Matters said the move should end delays in implementing the ruling, critics including the Scottish Greens condemned the guidance as "authoritarian and cruel."