Leaked document includes ‘terrifying’ anti-trans guidance for UK civil servants
"I’m shaken by all of this and I know trans civil servants are too," says one civil servant.
A leaked document contains “terrifying” anti-trans guidance, according to civil servants working for the UK government.
A civil servant is someone who is impartial and works to keep government departments like the Department for Work and Pensions up and running. There are around 500,000 in the UK.
In a document from the Cabinet Office, leaked to VICE News, there are multiple proposals for policies that would discriminate against trans people.
Vice reports the document is due to be published soon, a claim the Cabinet Office has refuted.
In the document, staff are advised they should recognise gender-identity beliefs (pro-trans) and gender-critical beliefs (anti-tran) equally.
Trans members of staff would also only be able to access single-sex spaces, such as toilets, with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). Currently, less than 1% of trans people in the UK have one.
Previously trans staff could use any single-sex toilet.
The document also says that those with gender-critical beliefs are protected under the 2010 Equality Act and “must be treated with respect and dignity and protected from bullying, harassment and discrimination.”
According to VICE, the document also defines being gender critical as: “A belief that recognises women only as adult human females and men only as adult human males and that it is impossible to change sex which is determined at conception.”
One civil servant, who isn’t trans, told VICE that the plans are “terrifying.” They also said: “I’m shaken by all of this and I know trans civil servants are too. How are transphobic views so mainstream now?”
A trans civil servant, who wanted to remain anonymous, told VICE: “My existence is not a belief. How can my safety be just as important as someone’s belief that I shouldn’t be safe? This feels like it was written by someone gender critical, just to give transphobes more clout.”
A UK government spokesperson told VICE: “In response, a government spokesperson said: “We don’t comment on alleged leaks,” and “It is a longstanding value of the Civil Service that differing viewpoints are tolerated and respected.”
Attitude was told by a Cabinet Office spokesperson: “This is a draft document and not Civil Service HR policy.”