Equalities Committee seeks to revive plan for easier ‘sex swaps’

The Women and Equalities Committee has launched a fresh attempt to make it much easier to change legal sex.

After extensive consultation, last month Equalities Minister Liz Truss announced there would be no changes to the Gender Recognition Act and only minor changes to procedure.

But this week the Committee announced its own call for evidence into how the law could be altered to make changing legal sex easier, and if changes should be made to give legal recognition to those who identify as neither male or female.

Women not considered

In a statement, Committee Chairwoman Caroline Nokes indicated her view that the Government’s changes to Gender Recognition Certificate applications – reducing the fee and putting the application online – did not go far enough.

“We’re seeking views about what other changes may be required to improve trans equality: to the Gender Recognition Act, or to other legislation – for example the Equality Act, to support services and facilities, and on legal reforms which could improve rights for gender fluid and non-binary people.”

The call for evidence asks individuals and organisations to consider whether the current requirement for people to have lived in their chosen gender for two years should be changed, and if the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria should be removed.

It also asks what impact the Government’s changes would have on people seeking to change their legal sex, but did not ask respondents to consider what impact a ‘self-identification’ model would have on women and girls.

‘Lost the argument’

The Christian Institute’s Simon Calvert commented: “The Women and Equalities Committee has already held its own inquiry into the Gender Recognition Act. Their recommendations were pretty extreme, including allowing 16 year olds to change gender and creating a new legal status of ‘non-binary’.

“They also wanted full self-declaration of gender – something rejected by 94% of the public according to a Sunday Times online poll. Thankfully the Government rejected the Committee’s key proposals. They’re just going to have to accept that they’ve lost the argument.”