Liberty, Amnesty International UK and Human Rights Watch have made a joint statement decrying the treatment of ts, trans, intersex and non-binary people signaling serious concerns about the human rights of such individuals. They recognise both the "toxic media coverage" and silencing of trans people and voices which have been escalating over the past 3 years. Denying the rights of trans people to a voice, they say, leads to dehumanisation, and while stopping short of announcing genocide, it is very clear that the use of dehumanisation means the UK is moving ever closer to this aim.
This is already happening in Hungary, Russia and the US, where trans people are facing serious human rights abuses, and new and vicious attacks on their fundamental rights. - Human Rights Watch (2020)
Meanwhile in the UK, A member of the UK House of Lords has been exposed abusing their position by writing to the Chairman of Marks and Spencer, demanding the retail giant
rewrites their diversity & inclusion rules to fit her bigoted view of the 2010 Equality Act.
In it, Baroness Nicholson likens trans people to criminals, rapists, upskirting, voyerism and human trafficking - the use of "single sex spaces" meaning the exclusion of trans people from using changing rooms alighted to their gender identity. As we have previously highlighted, the greater majority of trans, ts and non-binary people alter their bodies using hormones and/or surgery to meet with cisgender expectations, and for their own bodily comfort and autonomy. Most are extemely shy and body conscious having had to live with bodily dysphoria their whole life. This extreme dehumanisation is commonplace in "gender critical" movements, recently exposed as cults.
As such, anti-trans memes and propaganda have been allowed to manifest in the United Kingdom - and no gender minority has been immune. Trans men have been targets of such propaganda as well as trans women - where they are depicted as "mutilating" their female bodies, despite knowing that trans men have surgery and take HRT in order to live happy and productive lives.
Alison Phipps, is a feminist author and academic. In her book "me, not you" (2020), she describes how mainstream "feminism" has been weaponised in this way against vulnerable minority groups - trans, ts and minority people as well as sex workers by such myopic and privileged ideals.
Such ideas not only oppress minority genders. "Fair play for women" a known transphobic hate cult, have instilled such fear and outrage with pictures of non-passing ts, trans and non-binary people, have monstered them so much that they believe that "you can always tell".
Such attitudes inherently disadvantage the most offensive to white privileged women: butch lesbians, those without access to identity documentation, and anyone who doesn't meet white privileged class standards of what it means to be female. It polices body types and styles which are non-conforming. It polices intersex people, those with medical conditions such as poly cyctic ovary syndrome and any and all who do not appear "female" enough. It is in no way freedom and protections for women. It is enforcing and coercing all women to meet the standards set by those with privelege and power, to appear and present a certain way in order to obtain goods and services.
Scott Cuthbertson, of Equality Network Scotland, recently highlighted the problems facing the UK in a new consultation by Kaleidoscope Trust of 34 LGBTI+ charities working in 37 Commonwealth countries. In it, he says:
Updates to our gender recognition law, which saw a considerable anti-LGBTI effort against, have been delayed during the crisis - a move we support - but which has caused anxiety within our trans communities. The UK Government’s Women & Equalities Minister appears to be taking an anti-trans agenda further with comments suggesting restricting access to transition healthcare for trans teenagers and to single-sex services. Mobilising against this will be challenging.
These are indeed serious accusations for the UK, where the dehumanisation of trans, ts, intersex and non-binary people has been allowed to proliferate, fed by the mainstream press and media for far too long.