‘Not a niche issue’: PM defends the importance of protecting women’s spaces

Protecting single-sex spaces is not a ‘niche issue’ the Prime Minister has said, but a significant matter that should be addressed at the highest levels of government.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Rishi Sunak said: “I don’t think these are niche issues that should be avoided. I think they are issues that people would expect their Prime Minister and their politicians to have a view on and to address and that’s what I’m doing.”

Last month, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) told the Government that ‘sex’ should be clearly defined as biological sex under the Equality Act, which would make it easier to maintain the integrity of women’s sports and for female-only wards to exclude men who claim to be women.

Age-appropriate

The Prime Minister said that “making sure that we protect women’s safety and women’s rights is important, whilst also of course, having compassion and tolerance and understanding for those who are questioning their gender”.

In addition, he warned that the country also “can’t lose sight” of ensuring that “what our children are exposed to at schools is appropriate for them”, such as in sex education lessons.

I’m a parent, and I think most parents would care about that.

The Prime Minister stated: “I’m a parent, and I think most parents would care about that. They’d want to know what their kids were being taught, what materials they were being exposed to.’

Determination

Last month, EHRC’s Chairwoman said she is determined to ensure that equality law protects women’s sports and single-sex spaces, despite receiving brutal online abuse.

Baroness Falkner of Margravine was accused of being a Nazi who was dehumanising trans people, and was called names like “transphobic scum”, “bigot” and “fascist”, after publishing a letter in which the EHRC recommended that ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 should be clearly defined as biological sex.

But she told The Times that she remains determined not to let the criticism distract her, no matter how hard it might be on a personal level.