Speak Up For Trans Rights: Stonewall encourages people to respond to EHRC consultation
During Pride season, LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall has released a new ‘explainer’ to support individuals responding to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) consultation on its draft Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations.
The Code was updated following the Supreme Court ruling on 16 April. The EHRC has, since 20 May, begun consulting on the revised sections of the Code. Initially the consultation was just two weeks long – but following challenge from parliamentarians, Stonewall, and legal experts, the consultation was extended to six weeks.
According to Stonewall, this is "still much shorter than most government consultations", which last a minimum of 12 weeks. The charity said in a release: "The EHRC is not consulting on the full draft code. It has only published sections that it deems relevant, making it difficult for responses to be meaningful."
Stonewall is now calling on members of the public, including the LGBTQ+ community, friends, families and allies, to submit consultation responses. It has launched an explainer to clarify the complex process and encourage people to submit unique and powerful responses.
The rallying call for submissions, comes as the LGBTQ+ Consortium writes to the Minister for Women and Equalities stating: “A truncated timeline and partial publication of the code does not serve the process. The proposed Code will inevitably have complex and far-reaching implications, the enactment of which are not just administrative. There will likely be large-scale financial and regulatory implications for organisations to adjust policies and practices across England, Scotland, and Wales.”
Simon Blake OBE, CEO of Stonewall, said: “This Pride season our community is facing an unprecedented global roll-back on our rights. We are all, but especially the trans community, increasingly worried about our legal protections.
"Despite our concerns about the mechanics of the consultation process, it is important people respond to the consultation launched by EHRC and take the opportunity to have their voices heard.
“Pride is always a moment of coming together and now, more than ever we must come together and be heard.
"To support people, Stonewall has worked to create an explainer document to help cut through the deliberate complexities and general confusion and empower all of us to act.
“We must speak up loudly and proudly.”
The explainer is available on Stonewall’s website. It recommends individuals reflect on specific experiences and pose any questions or concerns in an appropriate format. Stonewall has also created an explainer for organisations wishing to respond, available on its website.
