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Norwich Green Party Statement on Trans Rights

23 July 2021

Norwich Green Party Statement on Trans Rights

Norwich Green Party passed a motion to make the following statement at its recent AGM.

“Trans men are men, Trans women are women and non-binary individuals are non-binary. Trans and non-binary individuals deserve to have their identities respected but we should be pushing for further acceptance of them within all areas of society. We aspire for Norwich to be a welcoming and safe city which values inclusivity and the diversity of all of its residents.

However, we also recognise that the current political climate has become increasingly divisive with a government that has demonised immigrants, left EU nationals in an awful limbo over Brexit and very recently launching a public attack on Stonewall, the charity born out of the fight against Section 28, a discriminatory piece of law which prohibited the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by local authorities and which has left a legacy still three decades later. Unfortunately this has also been reflected in the level of hate crime which, according to Home Office figures last year, hit the highest number recorded since records began with over 100,000 recorded. [1]  This has particularly affected the lives of trans and non-binary people with transphobic hate crimes representing the biggest rise soaring by 16%.[1] Between 2014/15 and 2019/20, these offences quadrupled representing a 354% increase. [2][3]

We also recognise the rise of transphobia which has spread within parties across the political spectrum with attacks on the community becoming more vocal and more insidious. We recognise the need for allies of the LGBTIQA+ community to stand up in solidarity against this organised campaign and fight not just for trans rights but trans liberation.

We would like to emphasise the policies passed by the members of the Green Party of England and Wales, as published within our ‘Policies for a Sustainable Society’ under Rights and Responsibilities: [4]

•Increased service provision of Gender Identity Clinics which should consult trans people to recognise their experience and expertise (RR531/RR532)

•Public education programs in schools and wider society to address transphobia in society (RR535)

•A review of current anti-discrimination legislation to provide protection to all trans individuals with the scrapping of exemptions to anti-discrimination legislation (RR535)

•A widespread review of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, the Equalities Act 2010 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 which contain significant flaws. It would be ensured these reviews would resolve the following issues:

-There is currently no legal recognition for non-binary people or for trans youth

-There is no provision for the alteration of birth certificates for intersex people

-Married trans people require permission from their spouse before gaining legal recognition

-Trans people are often forced to conform to stereotypical gender roles before being able to transition

-There are few protections for trans people to access services and gendered spaces that match their affirmed gender.

Norwich Green Party stands proudly with trans and non-binary people.”

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2019-to-2020

[2] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-54486122

[3]https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/10/14/hate-crime-england-wales-police-record-transphobia-homophobia-lgbt-home-office/

[4] https://policy.greenparty.org.uk/rr.html