The Girlguiding charity is facing landmark legal action from a mother who claims its policies are illegal and unsafe because they allow biological males to join and volunteer in what should be a female-only organisation.
The mother, who wants her daughter to become a Guide, says the charity’s inclusion rules breach its Royal Charter and ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling on biological sex.
According to the claim, Girlguiding defines “girl” and “woman” to include “those who are biologically female (however they identify) and those whose gender is a girl or a woman (trans girls and trans women).”
Paul Conrathe of Conrathe Gardner LLP, the solicitor representing the mother, said: “Girlguiding cannot simultaneously rely on an exemption that allows it to provide a female-only association and charity under the Equality Act, while redefining ‘girl’ and ‘woman’ to include biological males. This is legally and linguistically incoherent. It is unlawful and should be immediately withdrawn.”
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The mother, who did not want to be named, says Girlguiding’s own policy is contradictory. While it states that trans girls and trans women can join, it also says that boys or non-binary young people who were recorded male at birth cannot because Girlguiding is a “girl-only space”.
She said: “So, a boy who says he is a girl can join, but a boy who says he isn’t sure cannot. Apparently, Girlguiding’s commitment to ‘inclusion’ depends on the level of confidence in one’s gender identity.”
She said that the policy “makes no sense at all” and says the organisation “can’t claim to be both single-sex and gender-inclusive at the same time.”
The mother says her main concern is safety - especially on residential trips.
The mother says her main concern is safety
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“Girlguiding has a policy that no one may ask whether a member or a volunteer is really male or female, and there is no requirement on the individual to disclose this,” she said.
“This has scary implications for residential trips especially. If my daughter went on a school trip, I would not expect her to be asked to share a room with a boy or a male leader - and certainly not without my knowledge or consent. How can this possibly pass basic safeguarding standards?”
She added that her own time in the Guides in the 1990s had been formative. “We were led by strong, practical, and confident women, who were our role models. We spoke openly about our changing bodies. We were sisters. I would love my daughter to have the same experience but sadly Girlguiding has jettisoned its founding purpose - to be a genuinely girls-only space.”
Sex-based rights campaigners have backed the claim.
Maya Forstater, of the sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, said: “We regularly hear from parents and guide leaders who are concerned about Girlguiding’s unsafe and unworkable policy. They tell us that their young teen daughters are not comfortable with the prospect of washing and sleeping in close proximity to either male Guides or leaders.”
She added: “So many women have told us how having a girl-only organisation was important to them as they grew up, giving them the opportunity to try things and to grow in confidence, and how hurt and betrayed they feel by the organisation. Girlguiding should be empowering today’s girls instead of using them to provide a form of experimental therapy to boys who are unhappy about being boys.”
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Sex-based rights campaigners have backed the claim
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Ms Forstater said many parents were “voting silently with their feet” by keeping their daughters out of Brownies and Guides or refusing to volunteer.
“The Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Charity Commission must step in and require charities that were set up for women and girls to fulfil their purpose,” she added.
Tanya Carter, spokeswoman for the Safe Schools Alliance, said: “We have been raising the alarm for years about Girlguiding’s inadequate approach to safeguarding and the risks created by prioritising inclusion over safety. Refusing to confirm whether males can join undermines trust and leaves parents and girls in an impossible position. It is a safeguarding catastrophe waiting to happen.”
She added: “Girls at Girlguiding deserve to be and to feel safe. To achieve this Girlguiding must be open and honest with parents and carers. They must not be obstructive to those wishing to establish if the girls-only organisation they have chosen for their daughters is, in fact, single sex.”
Ms Carter warned that charities ignoring concerns “risk harm to children, reputational damage and potential legal action.”
The case will be brought under the Equality Act 2010 for alleged direct or indirect discrimination.
It relies on this year's Supreme Court ruling, which confirmed that for the purposes of the Act, “sex” means biological sex.
The mother’s lawyers argue that this makes Girlguiding’s current trans-inclusive policy incompatible with the law and its Royal Charter status as a female-only association.
The Girlguiding official policy states that it “promotes an inclusive and safe environment where all girls and young women, including trans girls and young women, should feel accepted.”
It adds: “Non-binary people assigned female at birth and trans boys as new young members based on their sex should also feel welcome.”
The mother’s legal team at Conrathe Gardner LLP say they will lodge proceedings if the charity fails to amend its policy.
A spokesperson from Girlguiding said: “The safeguarding and wellbeing of our members is at the heart of everything we do in guiding.
"Following the Supreme Court ruling, we are working closely with external advisors to ensure our policies remain lawful. We remain firmly committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect throughout this time.”
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