Edinburgh University has been blasted for allowing transgender women to use the female toilets.
The Russell Group university introduced a new policy permitting staff members to use “the toilet facilities that align with their gender identity”, even if they have not legally changed gender.
An equality impact assessment carried out before the new policy was set to come into effect said that “as a matter of law, access to facilities on the basis of gender identity makes those facilities mixed-sex rather than single-sex facilities”.
The assessment also found that the only staff body involved in reviewing the existing policy was the Staff Pride Network.
Although Edinburgh University has opted to provide gender-neutral facilities, it must still comply with the 1992 regulations
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As reported by the Herald, a policy pledge stated that the university campuses will have “appropriate facilities” which will include “gender neutral/individual spaces”.
The director of campaigns at charity Sex Matters, Fiona McAnena, hit out at the new policy, saying it ignored the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
She branded the university as “another public sector organisation…putting itself at risk by ignoring the 1992 regulations which make it perfectly clear that single-sex facilities must be provided in workplaces.”
“Nothing in the Equality Act changes that fact,” she added.
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She continued: “What will it take for organisations to take seriously their legal responsibility to provide safety and dignity to female staff, and students in this case, through the provision of separate-sex facilities?
“Women and men have separate toilets and changing rooms for good reason. The leadership of Edinburgh University should stop listening to activists and fulfil its legal obligations.”
The 1992 regulations specify that toilets and changing rooms are not suitable “unless they include separate facilities for, or separate use of facilities by, men and women where necessary for reasons of propriety”.
Although Edinburgh University has opted to provide gender-neutral facilities, it must still comply with the 1992 regulations.
The new policy comes as the topic of transgender women in female spaces has been in the spotlight due to a recent landmark employment tribunal.
Nurse Sandie Peggie was accused by NHS Fife of misconduct after she complained about the presence of transgender doctor Dr Beth Upton in a female changing room.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission watchdog has since written to the health board to remind them of their duty to protect single sex spaces.
The SNP’s Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill would have allowed people in Scotland to change their legal gender by simply signing a statutory declaration, without the need of a formal medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
Nurse Sandie Peggie was accused by NHS Fife of misconduct after she complained about the presence of transgender doctor Dr Beth Upton in a female changing room
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This legislation was vetoed by the UK Government over concerns it undermined protection for women and girls, however it has emerged that self-ID continues to operate in some parts of Scotland’s public sector.
The Scottish Tories’ shadow minister for equalities, Tess White, said: “It is simply unacceptable that female staff and students at the University of Edinburgh do not have guaranteed single-sex facilities available to them.
“This is just the latest example of the SNP’s reckless gender self-ID policy being embedded in Scotland’s institutions, at the expense of the legal rights and safety of women.”
An Edinburgh University spokesman told the Herald: “We take our responsibilities to our staff and students seriously and keep our policies under review to ensure they are in line with our wide range of obligations.
“We are committed to providing appropriate facilities for all staff and students across our estate.”
