Ban males using female-only spaces NOW, demands nurse at the centre of trans row

The caregiver astatine the centre of a transgender enactment said biologically antheral doctors should beryllium ‘immediately’ banned from women’s lone spaces.

Sandie Peggie is embroiled successful an employment quality with NHS Fife, which she has accused of unlawful harassment aft they fto trans medic Dr Beth Upton usage a pistillate changing room.

Officials astatine Victoria Hospital successful Kirkcaldy said Dr Upton, calved male, had the ‘right’ to usage female-only facilities but Mrs Peggie objected.

Yesterday, Mrs Peggie said successful a connection issued by her solicitor, Mrs Peggie welcomed the landmark Supreme Court ruling making wide the ineligible explanation of ‘woman’ successful instrumentality did not see biologic men.

Lawyer Margaret Gribbon said: ‘She is determined to proceed with her ineligible assertion successful an effort to get accountability for the mode she has been treated by Fife Health Board, simply due to the fact that she objected to sharing a female-only workplace changing country with a man.

‘She present expects NHS Fife to instantly halt permitting immoderate antheral who identifies arsenic a pistillate entree to female-only single-sex spaces successful the workplace.’

The employment tribunal, which volition proceed aboriginal this year, has been told however Mrs Peggie felt ‘uncomfortable’ astatine the imaginable of getting changed successful beforehand of Dr Upton.

It culminated successful an incidental successful the changing country connected Christmas Eve 2023, erstwhile Mrs Peggie challenged Dr Upton and the medic complained. Mrs Peggie was enactment connected permission and suspended.

Since the employment tribunal was adjourned determination person been a bid of bonzer interventions.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to NHS Fife and the Scottish Government to punctual them astir workplace authorities astir single-sex spaces.

And the Supreme Court past period unanimously ruled that biologic sex, not sex prime oregon a sex certificate, determined somebody’s rights nether the Equality Act 2010.

The determination puts women-only spaces disconnected limits to biologic males who place arsenic women, and represented a stunning decision for the Scottish Government who had been battling against that definition.

MSP Tess White, the Scottish Conservative’s equalities spokesman, said that Mrs Peggie’s ‘intervention should urgently beryllium listened to’.

She said: ‘After the decisive Supreme Court verdict, the nationalist volition rightly inquire wherefore NHS Fife is inactive pursuing this costly lawsuit against her portion remaining wedded to a divisive sex self-ID policy.

‘However, the crushed Sandie Peggie has had to marque this telephone is due to the fact that John Swinney is inactive shamefully refusing to contented a wide nationalist assemblage directive requiring organisations to uphold the law.’

Mrs Peggie's lawyer, Ms Gribbon  said: ‘She precise overmuch welcomes the caller Supreme Court’s judgement that “sex” successful the Equality Act 2010 means biologic sex.

‘She salutes the courageousness and tenacity of For Women Scotland for doggedly pursuing this strategically important lawsuit and is highly grateful to them for their enactment with her ain ineligible case.

‘She continues to gully spot and inspiration from the overwhelming enactment she continues to get from the nationalist successful this state and astir the world.’

Mrs Peggie has won a immense magnitude of enactment from well-wishers and an online fund-raising entreaty acceptable up by a protagonist saw the caregiver manus implicit thousands to charity.

And on with the immense nationalist enactment she has won, Mrs Peggie has received the backing of politicians from crossed the governmental spectrum.

Ms Gribbon added: ‘Sandie besides wishes to spot connected grounds her gratitude to those elected members from crossed the governmental disagreement who person demonstrated their nationalist enactment for her from the outset.

‘She plans to sojourn the Scottish Parliament earlier her employment tribunal resumes successful July and looks guardant to gathering galore of those politicians successful person.’

An NHS Fife spokesperson said the wellness committee ‘continues to await further expected guidance from the Scottish Government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission connected its implications for NHS organisations crossed Scotland’.

The spokesperson added: ‘The claimant has said, successful her statement, that she is determined to proceed with her ineligible claim.

‘The claimant is of people entitled to prosecute her ineligible action. As a result, NHS Fife, arsenic respondent, shall beryllium required to proceed to support the lawsuit done the due ineligible process.

‘The lawsuit involves a scope of analyzable matters, including an interior probe that was initiated pursuing concerns raised by a subordinate of staff.. NHS Fife believes it had a work to afloat analyse specified matters.’