Girl Guides leaders are pushing back against rules allowing boys and young men to “identity” as female and share showers with biological girls, as well as banning parents from knowing when this happens.
Girlguiding UK adopted the ideology of transgenderism and “gender fluidity” last year and changed its policies, which apply to children aged from 5 to 25, without putting in place measures to deter sexual predators from accessing girls’ facilities.
The official Girl Guides website explains that “the use of gendered facilities, such as toilets and showers, can be a cause of anxiety in trans young people. Members are entitled to use the facilities of the gender that they self-identify as.”
It also says “young trans members should be able to share accommodation with other young members if they wish”, adding: “A person does not have to disclose to you if they are trans. If they do, you should respect their confidentiality.”
However, a backlash has begun, with at least 20 leaders rebelling and writing to the group’s national headquarters in protest. They claim the policymakers have ignored concerns and are demanding girls and parents be consulted on their views.
Helen Watts, 33, is one of the rebel group’s leaders. She runs the Rainbows unit in west London, for girls aged 5 to 7, and told The Sunday Times: “I don’t think a transgender person necessarily presents a danger to anyone else, nor would I want to exclude them… but the emphasis is being placed on their needs and not on the needs or views of the other girls.”
Some rebels have been attacked online as “bigoted Terfs [trans-exclusionary radical feminists]”.
Parents Lindsay and Richard, who live in northern England, have a daughter about to go away on her first camping trip with the Girl Guides.
“You are putting the onus on a young girl to say whether or not she is uncomfortable sharing with a boy,” they said. “It could lead to her being labelled transphobic if she says she is unhappy.”
Girlguiding UK said: “We offer bespoke guidance for any leader who is looking to run an activity, like a camp, involving a trans child.”
The Government is currently considering a parliamentary report recommending that trans people be able to “identify” as women legally, potentially giving biological men access to all female spaces, facilities, and sports.
The report, by Parliament’s Women’s and Equalities committee, also called for all teachers to have “gender identity awareness training” and demanded “trans issues” become “mandatory” in school curriculums.
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