In April, the Crown Prosecution Service pulled its LGBT hate crime guidance for schools following a legal challenge by a 14-year-old girl.
The guidance warned schools they could face legal action if they do not allow transgender pupils to use the toilets and changing rooms of their choice. It also claimed that children could be guilty of a hate crime for ‘rejecting someone’, ‘not wanting to work with them’ or excluding them from a friendship group.
The schoolgirl, known as Miss A, was very alarmed by what she read in the document. Lawyers representing the girl said that she: ‘Greatly values her privacy and finds the thought of biological boys accessing the girl’s toilets very distressing.’
In their legal letter threatening a judicial review, lawyers accused the CPS of ‘misrepresenting the law’ and said it was ‘extraordinary’ that ‘no statutory organisation with expertise in safeguarding and the welfare of children has been consulted’.
The CPS said it would temporarily remove the guidance while it conducted a review.
Oxford
In other news, Oxfordshire County Council withdrew its ‘Trans Toolkit’ in early May after a court case challenging it, brought by a 13-year-old, was given the go-ahead for the Autumn. The Toolkit stated that the view that there are only two genders is an example of ‘transphobic bullying’.
