In the same week that Labour have proposed one of the most punitive asylum systems in Europe, we should not overlook the fate of another target of the Westminster establishment – and that is our trans siblings.

This week, guidance on trans people written by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) was leaked to The Times newspaper.

That itself is a choice: this Murdoch rag has been passionately committed to an anti-trans agenda although, to be fair, that goes for virtually the entire British media. This guidance has been prepared for the UK Government – and it is truly chilling stuff.

It suggests that people could be banned from single-sex spaces “based on what they look like”. I choose my words carefully here.

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The Times reports this as “transgender people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on what they look like.” That is true, but only tells part of the story.

Trans women – who have been using women’s toilets for decades – do indeed face the prospective wrath of the Toilet Police. But so does anyone who is gender non-conforming. Many butch lesbians speak of being repeatedly challenged in women’s toilets as it is. One lesbian has spoken about how she’s challenged one in every three times she uses a women’s public toilet, including by aggressive men.

One detailed study uncovered multiple examples of trans women suffering humiliating, aggressive and frightening experiences – but butch lesbians, too, as well as trans men and cis gay men trying to use men’s toilets. One gay man reports being “questioned about my gender and what sexual organs I have” when trying to use the men’s toilets.

Solidifying gender stereotypes, and making the use of public toilets a nightmare for trans people and gender non-conforming people alike.

Is this progress?

Just a few years ago, these proposals would have been seen as belonging to the most extreme, fringe margins of the internet. They’re now the official guidelines of the EHRC – supposedly a body which exists to protect minorities, but as a quango appointed by the government, has been transformed into a blunt instrument for the “culture war”.

Britain is being turned into the most hostile environment for trans people anywhere in Europe, other than Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Viktor Orban’s Hungary.

Vladimir Putin

We have had a vicious and obsessive media campaign against this tiny, marginalised minority, almost exclusively portraying them in a negative light: as would-be sexual predators, as threats to children, as being a weird fetish, or a product of mental illness. These are all the same songs the media sung about gay people in the 80s and 90s.

Almost everyone regards the onslaught against gay people as a dark chapter now. But it was so recent. In 1983, half of Britons thought same-sex sexual relations were “always wrong”, 12% thought “mostly wrong”, and 17% opted for “not wrong at all”.

Four years later, it was much worse: 64% said “always wrong”, 11% “mostly wrong”, with 11% choosing “not wrong at all” – a fringe opinion. Even by 1998, less than a quarter thought “not wrong at all”. When New Labour repealed Section 28 and equalised the age of consent, the vast majority of voters opposed it.

The reality that trans people actually face is systematically airbrushed. A quarter have reported being homeless at some point, two-thirds experienced prejudice when looking for work, and the vast majority have reported suffering transphobia from family members and in the street.

More than half have avoided going to their GP when unwell because of “previous bad experiences or fear of discrimination.” They’re stuck languishing for years on NHS waiting lists for affirmative care, and something as simple for most as using a public toilet is already a nightmare.

The idea that trans women must now use men’s toilets, and trans men must now use women’s toilets, is beyond absurd. What this means in practice is that many trans people will simply retreat further from public life. After all, panicking about being able to relieve yourself heavily curtails being able to participate in society.

There are those who call themselves “feminists” who are triumphant about their victory. In truth, this has all been secured because of the surge of the authoritarian right. Their allies have a list of what else they’d like to target – such as women’s reproductive rights, and the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people. What has been particularly vile has been the claims that this is being done for the benefit of LGB people. The polling shows overwhelming solidarity with trans people from the community – with bi and lesbian women, by far, being the most supportive.

We’ve gone in the exact opposite direction as other European countries – like Germany, Spain and Ireland – who have introduced trans rights legislation, alongside laws in support of women and gay and bi people.

In the US, note how trans rights are sliding alongside women’s rights. Our rights rise and fall together.

In Britain, we have a Labour Government which is supposed to shift society in a progressive direction. Instead, it is becoming ever more defined by prejudice towards those who are different – whether that be migrants, refugees, Muslims or trans people.

The injustices being bred by the hostile environment for trans people are so obvious and extreme that one day, they will be overcome, and this will be regarded as a dark chapter.

Alas, that will be too late to prevent the suffering so many trans people are being forced to endure.