Astrid

224 years!

Trump’s war on trans people has left Americans seeking asylum — from America Four trans Americans claiming refuge abroad tell Io Dodds why they no longer feel safe in their home country, from fears of martial law to being arrested in changing rooms

NEW: This is a story I worked really hard on.

I spoke to four American trans people about why they're claiming asylum in Canada or the Netherlands.

It's an eye-opening window into just how unsafe people now feel here — and what drove them to that point.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

As otherwise we will only be opposing it once it’s almost certainly too late

Sadly with the process as it stands, we won’t see it until after it’s been laid post ministerial approval and set to take effect automatically under negative SI process. Really there should be transparency prior to the decision I agree, but we have to assume it’s as bad as they keep saying it’ll be

Govt have total control over what happens next. They can require the EHRC produce a code that is compliant with the Human Rights Act and the public sector equality duty. They also have a range of legislative options open. If they choose not to act, they are responsible for every bit of harm.

The Supreme Court judgement says 'trans people's rights should not be affected'. The Government will *try to say 'responsibility for codes of practice lies with the EHRC'. In the meantime, the draft code continues to mandate an unprecedented regime of trans+ exclusion and segregation.

A picture of the shell game - three red - ish cups, with a hand lifting one to show a dice.

As EHRC leaks a final draft Code of Practice to the Equality Act to the Times then delivers it to govt and attempts to wash its hands of the impact on trans people, its important to recognise and call out the shell game we're in. EHRC will say 'we're just following the Supreme Court judgement' 1/3

Rather than signal boosting this bruised thumb of a human, I'll share Sarah Ahmed:

Whenever people keep being given a platform to say they have no platform, or whenever people speak ... about being silenced, you not only have a performative contradiction; you are witnessing a mechanism of power"

Amazing work! 💕

I think it's really worth shouting out that the first 2 people to withdraw were black debut authors (Mae Diansangu followed by Jason Okundaye). They both had some of the most to lose by doing so before others did, and yet they did anyway. I'm grateful to all who withdrew, but to them especially.

A copy of the letter. The full text can be found on our website.

🚨 NEW 🚨

Sign and share this letter to Ministers to express your business' or organisation's concerns with the EHRC's proposed Code of Practice

www.transsolidarityalliance.com/businesses-o...

What strange times, when the commander of RAF Greenham Common is coming out as a liberal supporter of the right to protest

Look, it's very simple, 15 years ago, the UK passed legislation that meant you had to carry your birth certificate to use a toilet.

This was to prevent trans people from using them, unless they have their cert modified by a GRC, in which case the Toilet Bouncer becomes a character in a logic puzzle

Ban trans women from single-sex spaces, equality watchdog to say

The EHRC is not changing course on their bathroom ban.

They don’t care what the consultation said.

So what happens now? 🧵

archive.ph/inGpF

It is a horrible day in Britain and you are a lovely trans person

At this point I just assume that the point of this is to ensure someone gets badly hurt or worse, because there really is no way to dress this shit up as Very Real Concerns.

This is a blisteringly good piece of writing

The EHRC say they are still on track to rush through 50,000+ consultation responses and finalise their proposed code by the end of August. After that, it looks like we won’t get to see it until it’s been approved by the government and on track to become statutory 😬😬

🚨 Important 🚨

The EHRC *did not* say that the guidance is being sent in December. They said that they would send it to the Minister by the end of August. I have checked both my own notes, my colleague's transcript, and Tribunal Tweets.

I'm not sure of the source of the December claim.

The pile ons are deeply organised and deeply vicious - if you’re trans yourself you can guarantee they will go after anything they can in your life with fury, and as a result so many trans people are just too scared to speak for themselves. Thank you for writing this 💕

The trans rights stitch-up: How the government plans to silence parliamentary debate on the most far-reaching restriction of minority rights in our lifetime open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...

🫠

Oh my god who on earth did they consult with to produce this

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to conclude that the ceaseless bullying and mockery of witnesses in this tribunal by the press, politicians and lobby groups has scared witnesses who may otherwise have come forward from doing so.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Horrifying

Congrats! 🥳

Please help us fight the trans bathroom ban 🚽

We have produced a briefing you should send to your MP and a detailed explainer, available here:

www.transsolidarityalliance.com/ehrc-code

Write to your MP, tell them: Secret decisions about fundamental rights are not ok The impact these proposals would have on our ability to live our lives. That they need to press for publication, proper pre-legislative scrutiny and a democratic vote. Share our MP briefing to help them fight. Make sure they understand why you care.

Wherever your MP stands, this is not how we should make decisions about fundamental rights.

Will you write to your MP and tell them this? ✍️

This is an emergency, we all need to tell them why this matters, what it means for us, and ask them to stand for trans+ lives and for democracy itself.