(LifeSiteNews) — In what is being hailed as a “landmark judgment” and “major victory” for women’s rights and workplace safety, a UK Employment Tribunal has ruled that a National Health System (NHS) policy allowing men in women’s private spaces is “unlawful” and “violates the rights of female staff.”
The court found that County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust unlawfully discriminated against and harassed female nurses by requiring them to share female-only changing rooms with a biological male.
“The Tribunal found that the Trust failed to uphold its legal obligations under the Equality Act by disregarding the nurses’ safeguarding concerns about privacy and dignity,” according to a press release from Christian Concern (CC).
The nurses were supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) and represented in court by Niazi Fetto.
“By requiring the Claimants to share a changing room with a biological male trans woman … the Respondent engaged in unwanted conduct related to sex and gender reassignment which had the effect of violating the dignity of the Claimants and creating for the Claimants a hostile, humiliating and degrading environment,” declared employment Judge Sweeney and Tribunal members Denise Newey Malcolm Brain in their ruling.
They added:
By not taking seriously and declining to address the Claimants’ concerns of August and September 2023 and of 04 April 2024, regarding that part of the Transition in the Workplace Policy that afforded biological males access to the female changing room, the Respondent engaged in unwanted conduct related to sex and gender reassignment which had the effect of creating for the Claimants a hostile and intimidating environment.
Female nurses had reportedly been told by NHS that if they had an issue with getting changed in front of a man who identifies as a woman, they should find alternative changing facilities, according to CC.
READ: ‘Transgender’ murderer cannot be returned to women’s prison after threatening inmates, staff
The Tribunal’s ruling concluded:
We were unclear what was meant by the submission that the policy was ‘lawful’ and deeper consideration of the argument led us to conclude that the policy of permitting biological males who identify as women to use a female changing room was not ‘lawful’.
The Tribunal further pointed out that the Workplace (Health, Safety, and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires an employer to provide changing facilities which “include separate facilities for, or separate use of facilities by, men and women where necessary or reasons of propriety.”
“This is a victory for common sense and for every woman who simply wants to feel safe at work,” said Bethany Hutchison, Darlington nurse and President of the Darlington Nursing Union. “Women deserve access to single-sex spaces without fear or intimidation. Forcing us to undress in front of a man was not only degrading but dangerous. Today’s ruling sends a clear message: the NHS cannot ignore women’s rights in the name of ideology.”
“We stood up because we knew this was wrong. No woman should be forced to choose between her job and her safety,” continued Hutchison. “This ruling is a turning point, and we will keep fighting until every woman in the NHS is guaranteed the dignity and protection she deserves.”
“This judgment exposes the extent to which the NHS hierarchy has been captured by extreme gender ideology and its willingness to sacrifice women’s safety and dignity in order to uphold it,” declared Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of the CLC. “Allowing a man into a female-only space because he claims to be a woman violates human dignity, common sense, the law of the land and biblical truth.”
“The NHS and the government should now give up their sabotage of clear judicial decisions and abide by the law which acknowledges that men are men and women are women,” added Williams.
According to Christian Concern’s press release, “the Tribunal’s decision comes amid growing national concern about NHS policies that prioritise gender identity over sex-based protections.”
