Girlguiding staff are still afraid to air gender critical views due to the movement’s overtly pro-trans leadership.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, a whistleblower said that opposition to transgender ideology is “simply not welcome” within Guiding due to vocal trans activists.
In 2017, Girlguiding shocked parents when it claimed that it would be unlawful to tell parents if their daughter is being looked after by a male leader identifying as a woman on overnight excursions. Following last year’s Supreme Court ruling on biological sex, it was forced to change its policy.
Whistleblowers
One whistleblower, who has no left the organisation, described an incident in which a junior manager told staff critical of Girlguiding’s trans-inclusive stance: “You’ve all got to get on board or get out.”
She said she “didn’t feel psychologically safe in that environment,” adding: “I had never experienced any organisation like it before.”
Another, who is still employed, noted: “It is essentially taken as a given within Girlguiding that trans women are women, so any discussion of biological reality is avoided. You simply wouldn’t test the water, as there would be no coming back from it.”
She explained that adopting a trans-inclusive position, “is what many young people have been taught”. The whistleblower reflected that girls are increasingly identifying as non-binary or trans, “and organisations feel under pressure to reflect that”.
Activist influence
The newspaper highlighted the influence of figures such as ‘Paula’ Southin, a 58-year-old man who identifies as a woman who posts highly sexualised content online.
Southin used to be a Girlguiding leader, but resigned when the organisation announced it would comply with the law on single-sex spaces. He participated in a recent consultation on how Girlguiding could continue to support gender-confused boys and men.
Southin said that Girlguiding’s decision to exclude men and boys who identify as female “sickens me to the core”, and has campaigned against the Supreme Court ruling.
Helen Joyce, from women’s rights charity Sex Matters, commented: “Any honest consideration of whether Paula Southin is fit to be in a position of authority within Girlguiding, given these provocative materials, has to start from the fact Southin is male, not female. Those responsible for girls’ safety must not be hampered by political correctness”.
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