Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society (OULGBTQ) has urged the University of Oxford’s Vice Chancellor and the wider Oxford community “not to passively accept transphobia,” in an open letter signed by over 500 students and staff.
The letter comes after the University updated its “Toilets and changing facilities” information to include guidance that “where toilets and changing facilities and single-sex these must be provided on the basis of ‘biological sex’”. These changes, which came into force on the 5th August, are a response to the updated Equality and Human Right Commission’s (EHRC) Code of Practice. The code followed last year’s Supreme Court ruling that the terms “sex”, “woman”, and “man” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to “biological sex”, meaning “sex registered at birth”.
The open letter asks the University to resist the “immense pressure to adopt the EHRC’s transphobic interpretation of the law”. It describes the EHRC’s code of practice as “unfit for purpose” and claims that it is an “affront to the safety and dignity of trans+ people, both in their exclusionary policies and their notoriously unclear enforceability”. The President of OULGBTQ told Cherwell: “This letter is only the beginning of a broader campaign against the EHRC Code and its implementation in Oxford.”
The letter claims that the University has sufficient “power, prestige and money” to resist national pressures to adopt the EHRC code. The President of OULGBTQ told Cherwell: “The open letter lists some actions the University could take without breaking compliance, but Oxford University also sits on billions of pounds in endowment. Fully rejecting the Code as an institution would incur both cost and risk, and we are aware that this is a highly ambitious goal, but they do have the level of power to resist it.” Actions proposed include publicly challenging the EHRC’s interpretation of the law, reaffirming support for the University’s trans+ community, and a commitment to not policing people’s use of toilets and changing rooms.
Additionally, the letter calls on the Oxford University community to make the code of practice “unenforceable” including by “refusing to take part in policing other people’s gender/sex”. While the vast majority of the signatories are students, the letter has also been signed by University administrators and officials including the chair of the University’s LGBT+ staff network Jonny Tridgell.
In a statement to Cherwell, a University spokesperson said: “The University has updated its guidance on toilets and changing facilities in line with its legal requirements. Oxford is committed to ensuring that there is suitable provision of facilities for all staff, students and visitors.” This follows from their initial statement, in May, when the University initially reviewed policies following EHRC transgender guidance, where a spokesperson told Cherwell that “Oxford remains committed to being an inclusive university where everyone belongs and is supported to succeed. We will continue to work and to maintain an environment in which the rights, dignity, and wellbeing of all members of our community are respected, including all members of our LGBTQ+ community.” No colleges have yet issued independent statements.
The President of OULGBTQ told Cherwell: “The positive response to the letter demonstrates that the student and staff body are committed to resisting the implementation of this code in their everyday lives.”
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