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Local Authority Education Portfolio Holder Letter - Single-sex toilets in schools

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Dear Education Portfolio Holder,

Conservatives for Women is a grassroots campaigning organisation with over 1000 members, a third of whom are party members. We campaign within the public sphere, and in the heart of Westminster, to raise awareness of issues which threaten the safety and dignity of women. We are writing to you now in your role as the Education Portfolio holder for your Local Authority.

We at Conservatives for Women are hearing a lot of reports of girls around the country not using lavatories at their secondary-schools, as these have become mixed-sex or the school is allowing boys who self-identify as girls to use the girls' single-sex facilities. This is leading to an alarming increase in urinary tract infections among adolescent girls who are not drinking during the day because they are afraid to use lavatories where boys may be lurking ready to photograph or abuse them. This is a particular concern for girls who have just started menstruating as failure to change sanitary products regularly can increase the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome.

Schools are increasing introducing mixed-sex facilities because they mistakenly believe that the Equality Act 2010 requires them to do so to protect any 'trans' pupils. However, in this case, schools are in fact in breach of the Equality Act because they are discriminating against girls. In effect, they are prioritising one protected characteristic over another. For further clarification, please see 
this useful factsheet from Safe Schools Alliance. 

Could you please look into whether any schools that you oversee in your role as the Education Portfolio Holder in your Local Authority have introduced mixed-sex toilets (including allowing students to 'self-identify' into whatever toilet they like), and if so take action to reintroduce single sex facilities. We would also be grateful if you could keep us updated on your findings and actions, and we would be pleased to support you in any subsequent discussions with schools or other stakeholders. Please do not hesitate to contact us on 
info@conservativesforwomen.org.

Kind regards

18 November 2024
FAQs on this landmark case
by Caroline Ffiske 10 October 2024
Will a gender critical barrister feel free to express her views in the workplace? Those of her client in court?
15 July 2024
Almost a year ago I made the difficult decision to retire after the next general election. That election came a little earlier than expected but I made a promise to my family, so I am standing down from both Conservatives for Women and my parliamentary work. I know I am leaving our task in excellent hands; my fellow directors at Conservatives for Women will continue to ensure we solidify the gains we have made within our party, and my dear friends and colleagues in many other groups will hold the new government's feet to the fire. Some of those groups did not even exist three years ago; our movement to restore sanity, safeguarding, and protect our sex-based rights goes from strength to strength. I will be working in parliament until the end of July. I will continue to support our fight in any way I can, and will always be available if I can be of help. I am stepping back, but not completely stepping away. It has been an absolute honour to share this battle with you all. For the foreseeable future though, you will find me listening to Test Match Special in my shed :-) Karen Varley, 15 July 2024
15 July 2024
Five years ago Conservatives for Women was born. We were a group of women shocked by how a marginal, unscientific, and harmful idea was taking centre stage in our shared public life. We knew, like everyone else, that a vanishingly small number of men and women seek to present as the opposite sex in their public and private lives and deserve to be treated civilly. But we did not believe that school children should be taught that ‘everyone has a gender identity’. We knew this involved the State lying to our children. We did not believe that vulnerable children should be supported by the NHS to take experimental drug treatments to suppress their puberty and then move on to cross sex hormones. We instinctively knew this was the State harming our children. We also knew that women had a right to single sex spaces, services, sports, and wider opportunities. And we knew that we had a right to talk about this; yet doing so, five years ago, appeared genuinely frightening. Women were losing their jobs. So a small bunch of Conservative women got together. For several years we worked incredibly closely even though we had never met! Because our goal was clear. We knew that what was going on had to be addressed at a policy level; at a parliamentary level. We needed the Conservative Party to become gender critical. While we worked cooperatively, Karen Varley became our group leader. I expect she had little idea, five years ago, that she would soon be working 70 hour weeks, engaging directly with Ministers, MPs and Peers, tackling serious policy issues in real time. Conservatives for Women, working alongside all the other gender critical groups and grassroots individuals, turned the tide on gender ideology in the UK. Together we created Terf Island. We know that our work is very far from over. But now Karen is retiring and we would like to thank her for a truly immense contribution. She’s played her part in a historic movement. We look forward to someone, someday, writing up this period in full. They will need to talk to Karen. And now our work will continue. Here’s to Karen Varley, grassroots women, and Terf Island! Caroline ffiske, 15 July 2024
12 June 2024
We hope this newsletter finds you well and gearing up for an election battle that’s only just begun, and with the reminder that, however dire the polls, Teresa May had a 20 point lead over Jeremy Corbyn in 2017… and then she published the Conservative manifesto and enraged the public. Her lead plummeted and the Conservative’s majority shrank enough that she had to make a deal with the DUP to command a majority to govern. Labour should be publishing its manifesto tomorrow and there is every chance it contains something that will enrage the public at large. Even if that doesn’t transpire, there is still everything to play for, and to that end, our candidates need your help. We already know the Conservatives have pledged in its manifesto to make the Equality Act clear , to clarify that sex means, and has always meant, biological sex, and not something that can be modified by a piece of paper. This, along with other manifesto commitments, is a measure that will do a great deal to help preserve single sex spaces, and protect the safety and dignity of women and girls. We now need to get out there and make it clear that our candidates not only know what a woman actually is, but will always put the safety, privacy and dignity of women and girls first. If you haven’t read it, the full manifesto can be found here . We highlighted some of the key statements in our X thread here . One of the first candidates to give a clear and well informed response to questions on women’s rights and child safeguarding was Michael Tomlinson , Conservative candidate for Mid Dorset and North Poole. Let us know if your candidate says something useful! Below, we have listed every Conservative candidate who is known to be supportive of our aims. Every one of these candidates needs support, whether it’s through encouraging messages via social media or by offering assistance with canvasing – any and all help, however seemingly small, is desperately needed. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we are sure there may be more but we wanted to get this out to you quickly. If you see them around and you intend to vote for them, tell them WHY they have your vote. If the opposition asks why you won’t vote for them, tell them too! Women's rights and child safeguarding matter. If you would like to get directly involved with any of the campaigns for the PPCs listed, you should find contact details on their websites; if nobody gets back to you quickly then let us know via a DM on X or email us at info@conservativesforwomen.org as we have direct contact with many of the campaign coordinators. If none of these MPs are local to you, there are still things you can do that help: follow them and like their pages/posts on social media for example. Many have a presence on X, Facebook, and Instagram. You could consider doing some telephone canvassing - just half an hour a day could make a difference to any one of them. Contact them directly - or volunteer via the Conservatives website. Or do call one of our directors Caroline Ffiske on 07712 675 305 if you have not done this before and would like a few tips! Let’s give this one last push before we all mark our Xs on the ballot papers. First of all, the women:
29 September 2023
'Don’t turn your back on women and girls'
by Caroline ffiske 23 August 2023
Conservative MPs and councillors need to pay much closer attention
22 July 2023
Stonewall Chair Comes Unstuck on 'Trans' Issues
by Jeannette Towey 8 April 2023
I am left wondering...
by Caroline ffiske 1 February 2023
Then balance gender ideology alongside other beliefs, including opposition to it.
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