Caspar Aremi

@caspar.lol

1215 Followers 1202 Following

Another gay Scot in London // Dog dad // Work on video stuff at @pinknews.bsky.social // he/him

Cover of The Traveller by Joseph Eckert
Poster art for the 2025 movie Twinless, showing Dylan O'Brien and James Sweeney looking cute
Dear Caspar, Thank you for contacting me regarding the Equality and Human Rights Commission's updated guidance on sex-based spaces. I share the deep concern of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies following the Supreme Court ruling of April 2025, which has caused considerable fear and distress amongst transgender people living in the UK and their loved ones. It is alarming that there have been reports of trans people seeking to leave the UK as they no longer feel safe here, and I am acutely aware of the very real harm this climate is causing to individuals and their families. I am very concerned that since the ruling, organisations have issued policies and guidance which undermine trans people's human rights and limit their ability to participate fully in public life. The EHRC's updated guidance, which goes beyond the Supreme Court ruling itself, is particularly concerning. The guidance sets out that trans women should not be permitted to use women's facilities in places such as hospitals, shops, and restaurants, and that people may be asked to confirm their birth sex where a service provider considers it "necessary and proportionate" to do so. I believe that requiring trans people to confirm their birth sex in this way represents an unacceptable infringement of their human rights, and in particular their right to privacy and dignity. I was therefore pleased that human rights charity Liberty has launched a legal challenge to the EHRC's code of practice, arguing that the Commission has breached its statutory duties by attempting to rush through sweeping changes without affording individuals and businesses a lawful period of consultation. I am also following closely the case being prepared by Judge Dr Victoria McCloud, supported by the Trans Legal Clinic, to bring a challenge to the European Court of Human Rights.