Equalities chief Councillor Sheila Chapman

CHECKING people’s birth certificates before allowing them into single-sex spaces is impractical and risks the harassment of trans people and anyone who doesn’t conform to gender stereotypes, Islington Council’s equalities chief has said.

After a ruling by the Supreme Court in April that said the legal definition of a “woman” is based on biological sex, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has proposed new rules for how organisations should implement this law.

The commission has proposed that staff check people’s sex at birth before allowing them to access single-sex spaces or services – including bathrooms, changing rooms, or domestic abuse services.

But Islington Council has condemned the plans, which were subject to a six-week public consultation that closed on Monday.

Equalities chief Councillor Sheila Chapman said: “When the body responsible for preventing discrimin­ation is suggesting we should check everyone’s birth certificates before they use the bathroom, it’s time for them to pause and think again.

“Expecting reception staff in a busy leisure centre or a domestic violence service to determine whether someone is trans, without subjecting them to harassment or breaching their right to privacy, is not practical.

“It risks legal confusion and a culture of suspicion.”

Cllr Chapman said the guidance was “rushed” and “contradictory”, adding that it would “risk both the harassment of trans people and anyone who doesn’t conform to gender stereotypes – putting them at risk of being forced to prove their biological sex when someone thinks they don’t look like what their idea of a woman should be.”

The council has urged the EHRC to pause the process and listen to trans communities.