Girlguiding will be female-only from September

Girlguiding has announced that any gender-confused boys who identify as girls will have to leave the organisation by September.

Following Girlguiding’s decision to ditch its trans-inclusive policy last year, it has now confirmed that a 6 September deadline will give those affected “time to plan, prepare, access support, and decide when – between now and September – they feel ready to leave”.

Only girls have been able to join the organisation since 2 December, but the number of male members is unknown because gender identity is not recorded.

Single-sex spaces

Men occupying female-only volunteering positions will also have to move to a role “open to all” by the same date.

Women’s group Sex Matters said Girlguiding’s decision was the “right thing” to do.

Helen Joyce, Director of Advocacy at Sex Matters, stated: “This news will come as a relief to many girls and their parents, who greatly value single-sex provision.”

Legal action

Before Girlguiding withdrew its transgender policy in December, the mother of a seven-year-old girl launched legal action against the organisation for creating a “intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”.

In a letter seen by The Times, the concerned parent said: “This includes, but is not limited to: sharing toilets, showers or changing facilities with boys, contact sports with boys and sharing accommodation with boys, all without their prior knowledge or consent.”

Girlguiding’s lawyers later informed the mother that its client had “decided that the policy would be withdrawn and replaced by a new policy that states: ‘In line with the Equality Act 2010 definition, girl and woman refers to those who are biologically female (however they identify).’”

This U-turn was made in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling that the definition of a woman is determined by biology for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.