Binary Australia: No more boys in UK Girl Guides
Michael Barnett OAM
No more boys in UK Girl Guides
Girlguiding UK has reluctantly excluded males from its organisation, as a result of the Supreme Court ruling in April that said sex meant biological sex in equality law.
Despite Girl Guides being intended for girls, the leaders said they had made the “difficult decision” with a “heavy heart” to only accept biological females, no longer allowing the admission of “trans girls,” which simply means boys.
Girlguiding said: “From today (2 December) trans girls and young women, and others not recorded female at birth, will no longer be able to join Girlguiding as new young members.”
Girlguiding said there would be no immediate changes for young members, but more information would be shared next week.
It is not clear how many people the rule change will directly affect, as the organisation says it does not collect data on gender identity.
“This is a decision we would have preferred not to make, and we know that this may be upsetting for members of our community,” the trustees said.
“Girlguiding believes strongly in inclusion, and we will continue to support young people and adults in marginalised groups.”
It said: “Girlguiding's governing charity documents set out that the membership and people who benefit from our organisation are girls and women.”
Girlguiding runs camps and other events where vulnerable children have to shower and share sleeping dormitories. It is extremely inappropriate to include males in these vulnerable spaces. There are plenty of other organisations boys can join.
In areas where single-sex spaces and services are required, it should always be the priority to protect female sex-based rights.