Police policy on strip searches by trans officers ‘fails women’

British Transport Police (BTP) has published a policy allowing male officers who identify as female to strip search women.

Women’s rights charity Sex Matters has written to Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi threatening legal action if the guidance is not removed, arguing that it breaches women’s human rights.

In another policy, BTP allows their staff to wear the uniform and use showers and changing rooms of “whichever gender they choose”.

Women’s rights

Cathy Larkman, national policing lead for the Women’s Rights Network stated: “When the state allows men to strip women and touch them, then that in my view is state-sanctioned sexual assault.”

She added: “Their eagerness to bring this in despite the clear warnings made indicates that they have forgotten about women’s rights”.

She stated it is “shocking” that women are having to call the police to account, saying “not so long ago, they promised to rebuild women’s trust. Those were hollow words.”

When the state allows men to strip women and touch them, then that in my view is state-sanctioned sexual assault.

Inhuman treatment

Maya Forstater, Chief Executive of Sex Matters, warned BTP that “Its guidance breaches the Human Rights Act, the Equality Act and PACE, the law that requires strip-searches to only be carried out by someone of the same sex.”

She said the policy “breaches that obligation, treating male officers’ ‘gender identities’ as more important than women’s most fundamental rights”.

Forstater argued: “States have an absolute duty to protect citizens from degrading and inhuman treatment.”

Scotland

The Scottish Government has written a 50-page report researching non-binary people, despite First Minister John Swinney stating that there are only two genders.

The National Records of Scotland, a department of the government, has also been criticised for recording gender identity rather than birth sex in the official death registry.

Susan Smith, Director of the campaign group For Women Scotland, warned: “Conflating sex with gender doesn’t just risk making Scotland a laughing stock, it may also risk lives and cost the public purse.”