New government guidance on single-sex services has been accused of mirroring policies from Donald Trump's America, as campaigners warn it could push transgender people out of public life. The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published its updated code of practice on Thursday evening, more than a year after a landmark Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 that clarified the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex.
Controversial guidance sparks outcry
The Trans+ Solidarity Alliance (TSA) described the guidance as a “Section 28 moment for this Labour government, defining their legacy on LGBTQ+ rights”. Section 28, introduced by Margaret Thatcher's government in 1988, banned local authorities from promoting homosexuality. The TSA also noted the guidance is “worryingly similar to a US bathroom ban condemned by the UK foreign office in 2016”.
EHRC chairwoman Mary-Ann Stephenson rejected claims of bathroom policing, urging a “common sense” approach. “We’ve had separate toilet services for women and men for decades, and we don’t have people on the door checking who goes in,” she said.
Key provisions of the code
The code covers scenarios from sports to hospital wards. It states that trans people should compete according to their birth sex and that single-sex wards can lawfully exclude trans patients. On bathrooms, it says it would be “very unlikely to be proportionate to put a trans person in a position where there is no service that they are allowed to use”. The code also advises against questioning individuals about their sex in incidental facilities like toilets.
TSA director Alexandra Parmar-Yee warned: “The law here is a mess, and clearly many businesses will just go gender neutral to avoid the headache, but the government risks pushing trans people yet further out of public life.” She added: “Treating trans people like this puts the UK outside the international human rights norm.”
Jess O’Thomson, trans lead at the Good Law Project, acknowledged improvements from an earlier draft but said the guidance “still treats trans people as a third sex, suggesting they should be made to use separate spaces – entirely ignoring the harm this causes”.
Reactions from both sides
For Women Scotland, which brought the Supreme Court case, hailed the guidance as a “significant milestone in ensuring women’s rights are upheld and protected”. Women and equalities minister Bridget Phillipson said the ruling made clear that “sex means biological sex” under the Equality Act, while trans people remain protected.
The government insisted the code provides “clear, workable guidance” for service providers. The code is now before Parliament for 40 days of scrutiny, though no vote is required. EHRC chair Stephenson hoped it would “help reduce the risk of litigation”, but women and equalities committee chair Sarah Owen predicted “expected legal challenges” and a continued “hellish limbo” for trans people.
