Gender Recognition Act 2015.

political analyst · 01-10-2020 6:14pm #1

Does the Gender Recognition Act of 2015 let human beings who are biologically male (i.e. still have penises) but identify as female use females-only spaces, i.e. toilet rooms, changing rooms at gyms and at swimming pools?

Did our government not give any thought to the risk that a biological male might pose to women and girls in a females-only space? The following case in Scotland illustrates the concerns of people who criticise legal provision for self-declaration of gender identity.

https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/16/transgender-woman-18-sexually-assaulted-girl-10-morrisons-toilet-8914577/

PS: I was advised to ask about the legislation in question in this forum instead of in the Current Affairs forum.

BattleCorp · 02-10-2020 3:41pm

I would assume that yes is the answer. If a biological male can legally change their gender to female, then in the eyes of the law they are female so one would assume that they have access to female only spaces. Dangerous to assume things in a legal discussion forum though.

Losty Dublin · 02-10-2020 5:16pm

I don't believe that there is any such thing defined in law as a female or a male or gender specific space, unless somebody else can show us otherwise. In the absence of such a lawful definition or direction then it is up to premises to decide who goes where.

As regards your claim of a risk of assault, well I don't really think that the chances of a sexual deviant waltzing into the ladies changing room at the swimming pool or the changing rooms in M and S or the toilets at your local pub to carry out an attack are really that high. In spite of what that tabloid newspaper link that you post would infer

Bikerman2019 · 02-10-2020 5:24pm

This entire subject drives me nuts at how stupid it is.

What is to stop Larry Murphy or some other looper declaring they are now women and using ladies toilets and changing rooms and the like.

Where is the bar / burden of proof in all of this.

Can you just walk into a ladies changing room and when challenged, claim to identify as female?

FunLover18 · 02-10-2020 5:33pm

Bikerman2019 wrote: »

What is to stop Larry Murphy or some other looper declaring they are now women and using ladies toilets and changing rooms and the like.

What is to stop those likes or any man using a ladies toilets without even having to declare they are a woman. As someone suggested above "female only spaces" don't exist in written law (open to correction). How many times have you seen a man go into a lady's bathroom with a female child or vice versa. This isn't some loop hole in the law, if a man rapes or assaults a woman in a ladies bathroom the issue isn't that he was in the ladies bathroom.in the first place.

Also the legislation has been in place for 5 years and the story in the OP isn't even from Ireland.

Bikerman2019 · 02-10-2020 5:50pm

FunLover18 wrote: »

What is to stop those likes or any man using a ladies toilets without even having to declare they are a woman. As someone suggested above "female only spaces" don't exist in written law (open to correction). How many times have you seen a man go into a lady's bathroom with a female child or vice versa. This isn't some loop hole in the law, if a man rapes or assaults a woman in a ladies bathroom the issue isn't that he was in the ladies bathroom.in the first place.

Also the legislation has been in place for 5 years and the story in the OP isn't even from Ireland.

So is there anything in law about this or is just the accepted norm?

Robbo · 05-10-2020 9:25am

Given that no one has actually engaged with any provision of the Act that the thread was supposedly to discuss, I think we'll leave it here.

Gender Recognition Act 2015.

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