![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_270207065-9c53.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe leaked guidance has not been published by the government (Picture: SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tThe leaked guidance has not been published by the government (Picture: SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Trans <\/a>people may be barred from using public toilets or getting changed based on \u2018how they look\u2019, a leaked guidance document says.<\/p>\n In April, the Supreme Court ruled that trans people do not meet the definition of \u2018woman\u2019 <\/a>under anti-discrimination law. <\/p>\n The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)\u00a0said it will write guidance for organisations that run gendered spaces<\/a> to reflect this.<\/p>\n A leaked copy of the watchdog\u2019s guidance, obtained by The Times<\/a>, says hospital wards, gyms and leisure centres can turn trans people away \u2018based on how they look, their behaviour or concerns raised by others\u2019.<\/p>\n \t\t According to the paper, the guidance states that trans men would be barred from women\u2019s spaces if they are likely to be perceived as male, even if they were assigned male at birth.<\/p>\n Equality officials say in the reported guidance it would not be \u2018proportionate\u2019 to leave trans people without essential services.<\/p>\n Neither would it be \u2018practical\u2019 for people to demand \u2018evidence of a person\u2019s sex\u2019, such as a gender recognition certificate, which earlier reports suggested the EHRC would advise. <\/p>\n The paper allows a trans person to update the gender on their birth certificate \u2013 trans people are not required to have the document, and just 8,000<\/a> of the roughly 262,000\u00a0trans people in the UK have one<\/a>. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\tJoin Metro’s LGBTQ+ community on WhatsApp\t\t\t<\/p>\n With thousands of members from all over the world, our vibrant LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel<\/a> is a hub for all the latest news and important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n Simply\u00a0click on this link<\/a>, select \u2018Join Chat\u2019 and you\u2019re in! Don’t forget to turn on notifications!<\/p>\n EHRC officials handed the now leaked guidance to ministers three months but it has yet to be published.<\/p>\n Trans rights campaigners have for weeks expressed concerns that the advice will treat them as \u2018second-class citizens\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t And such worries have not been eased with the leaked guidance, trans campaigner Felix Fern<\/a> told Metro.<\/p>\n \u2018The leaked guidance confirms what we already know, which is that the UK is leaning in the direction of trying to slowly push trans people out of existence in public spaces until they\u2019re no longer safe to leave their homes,\u2019 Fern said.<\/p>\n \u2018But it also represents a wider policing of one\u2019s physical appearance that will endanger the wider general public.\u2019<\/p>\n Fern pointed to instances of women who are cisgender \u2013 whose gender identity aligns with their assigned sex<\/a> \u2013 being harassed for not looking \u2018feminine\u2019 enough.<\/p>\n Cis women worldwide have been killed<\/a>, beaten <\/a>and fired from their jobs by people who \u2018accused\u2019 them of being trans, such as because they are tall<\/a>.<\/p>\n Similar incidents in the UK have increased since the Supreme Court judgment, according to research by TransActual<\/a>. Such as gender non-conforming and masculine women being asked, \u2018Are you supposed to be here?\u2019 when using women\u2019s toilets, the group found.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018We cannot believe that government would be so foolish \u2013 so hell-bent on shooting itself in the foot \u2013 as to go along with this,\u2019 the group told Metro.<\/p>\n \u2018We therefore trust that Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson will treat it with the contempt it deserves and reject this costly, cruel and unworkable guidance, sending it back to the EHRC to be completely rewritten.\u2019<\/p>\n Jess O\u2019Thompson<\/a>, trans rights lead at the Good Law Project, told the Metro that the EHRC guidance, if legitimate, could be \u2018unlawful\u2019.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court ruling was on the Equality Act, which shields trans people from discrimination as they\u00a0fall under the \u2018gender<\/a> reassignment\u2019 characteristic.<\/p>\n EHRC guidance,\u00a0which applies to England, Scotland<\/a> and Wales<\/a>,\u00a0is not the law \u2013 it is an interpretation of legislation.<\/p>\n \u2018Policing toilet access based on appearance is not just a violation of trans people\u2019s rights, but also dangerously misogynistic,\u2019 O\u2019Thompson, a legal researcher, said.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018The EHRC claim to be protecting women\u2019s rights, but policing toilets just leads to increased violence against women and girls.\u2019<\/p>\n Education secretary\u00a0Bridget Phillipson<\/a>\u00a0said she would go through the guidance \u2018thoroughly and carefully\u2019.<\/p>\n She added to reporters today: \u2018I have responsibilities to make sure that\u2019s done properly and we\u2019re taking the time to get this right.<\/p>\n \u2018This is an important area and we want to make sure that women have access to a single-sex provision \u2013 that\u2019s incredibly important for domestic violence services, rape crisis centres, so that women are able to heal from the trauma they\u2019ve experienced.<\/p>\n \u2018But of course, trans people should be treated with dignity and respect.\u2019<\/p>\n The EHRC has been approached for comment. <\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"close-up](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_275021062-b5f4.jpg\")
\n\t\tPublic toilets are sometimes a single-sex space (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"London,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_264475442_01db9b.jpg\")
\n\t\tA trans rights campaigner told Metro may lead to cisgender women being discriminated against for not appearing \u2018feminine\u2019 enough (Picture: Vuk Valcic\/ZUMA Press Wire)<\/p>\n![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_270207066-aa24.jpg\")
\n\t\tTrans campaigners have criticised the leaked copy of the guidance (Picture: SOPA Images)<\/p>\n![\"Mandatory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SEI_268211637-2a7c.jpg\")
\n\t\tBridget Phillipson is both Education Secretary and the UK\u2019s top equalities government official (Picture: James McCauley\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
\nMORE: Cyclists have just proven that including trans women isn\u2019t hard<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: I went to Pride in Japan and it almost broke my heart<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMORE: Our 28-year age gap makes the relationship special, we won\u2019t have 50 years together<\/a><\/p>\n