Minister for Women and Equalities Liz Truss. (NurPhoto via Getty/ David Cliff)
The government’s so-called equalities office tried to wish everyone a happy Pride Month, but in light of its recent actions, it wildly backfired.
The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has disappointed the LGBT+ time and time again under the leadership of Conservative minister for women and equalities Liz Truss.
Almost three years since the Conservative party’s 2018 pledge to “eradicate” conversion therapy in the UK as part of its LGBT+ Action Plan, a ban has failed to materialise.
Following promises that a ban would be brought forward “shortly” – after a consultation on “free speech” and “religious freedom” – just last month Truss suggested that the previous LGBT+ Action Plan would be scrapped.
The price drop and scrapping of reforms ignores the fact that 80 per cent of respondents to the 2018 review were in favour of demedicalising the process of obtaining a GRC, as well as a 2020 poll which showed that 57 per cent of women agreed that trans people should be able to self-identify. It also does nothing to address the prolonged, exhaustive, and excessively bureaucratic process of acquiring a certificate.
Speaking to Dazed via email, Eloise Stonborough, the associate director of policy and research at Stonewall, says: “While the reduced fee is a small step in the right direction, it still falls far short of the meaningful reform to the Gender Recognition Act that was promised by the UK government in 2018. Any application fee for a Gender Recognition Certificate creates a barrier for some trans people. It’s also important that the UK government sets out a clear timeline of the further changes to streamline the application process and move it online.”
2020 was the year the tide turned in the trans wars spectator.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from spectator.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.