Bridget Phillipson slams 'deeply unpleasant targeting' of trans people amid EHRC update

Bridget Phillipson slams 'deeply unpleasant targeting' of trans people amid EHRC update Women and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson defended the EHRC's updated guidance as "the right place to be", despite warnings of legal challenges and fierce debate over transgender rights and the Equality Act. Fresh guidance on single-sex spaces won't please everyone but represents "the right place to be", the women and equalities minister has said. Bridget Phillipson said she anticipated continued debate, legal challenges and examination of the guidance, stressing that would have occurred regardless of what the new code contained. Speaking to the Women and Equalities committee on Wednesday, she also indicated the rights of women and trans people shouldn't be at odds, noting that the broader discussion had become "deeply unpleasant". It marked the minister's first committee appearance since the Equality and Human Rights Commission's (EHRC) revised guidance on single-sex spaces was released last month. The code clarified that a service must be accessed on the basis of biological sex for it to be classified as single-sex under the Equality Act, following the Supreme Court ruling in 2025. This means single-sex toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards and refuges must be accessed based on a person's birth sex, rather than the gender they identify with. Ms Phillipson reiterated her view that the new code delivers clarity for service providers including gyms, leisure centres and cafes. She told MPs: "The EHRC wanted to be confident that the draft code that they were bringing forward provided everyone with what they needed, and I believe that the position that we have arrived at – whilst I understand, you know, will not satisfy everyone in terms of what it offers – I believe is the right place to be, and that is why I laid the code on behalf of the Government." The minister said she anticipates that "because this is a very contested space, there will continue to be further debate, challenge, scrutiny, legal challenge", adding: "That would be the case, whatever the draft code said." She was questioned over whether she had concerns about the financial and wider consequences of legal battles and "lawfare" on organisations such as Girlguiding, the Women's Institute and Parkrun, which committee member Kim Leadbeater referred to as "charities and voluntary groups who have expressed some serious concerns". Earlier this month, the founder of Parkrun revealed that the "most obvious challenge" the charity currently faces is the "gender, sex debate". Paul Sinton-Hewitt said they had "a team of people looking at it" and that his "hope and wish is that as we navigate this, we don't do ourselves any damage, that we protect what is really, really important to us, which is inclusivity, that we don't alienate any part of the community". Ms Phillipson said that while she appreciates organisations, particularly smaller ones without access to substantial budgets, may find this area "difficult", she believes the draft code "provides for what is needed across the protected characteristics". Voicing her hope that progress can be made on the basis of the published code, she added that she does not want trans people "to be constantly pilloried on social media for being who they are and wanting to live the lives that they want to lead", while also wanting women "to be able to access the services and service providers to be able to deliver the services that they believe are necessary on a single-sex basis for women who have experienced male violence". She added: "I don't think those two things ought to be in conflict. "My belief has always been that we can deliver appropriate single-sex services, whether that's rape crisis, women's refuges, good access to sporting activity for girls, without that meaning that we have to engage in what has become, I think, deeply unpleasant targeting of people who simply wish to live their lives without causing any harm to anyone else." Campaign group Trans+ Solidarity Alliance previously revealed that more than 100 MPs had signed an early day motion (EDM) to reject the code, branding it "unjust, unworkable and unacceptable". The group stated: "We hope this shows the strength of feeling on this in Parliament and that it helps force a rethink on trans equality." An EDM can be tabled by MPs to spotlight opposition to an issue, but doesn't automatically trigger a debate or vote on the subject.