New Rules for Trans Police Officers: Once Again Excluding Vulnerable Women

This article came up on my Facebook feed via a Feminist campaigner. Effectively, any police officer in possession of a gender recognition certificate [the legal document which changes the gender of the person on the birth certificate] can carry out an intimate body search on a person of the same gender; regardless of whether or not the officer has transitioned. The person being searched will have no choice in who they are searched by.

I happen to think this is one situation where there is a very obvious and simple compromise that could be made to deal with the practical realities of people's particular vulnerabilities. I do not see why those who are uncomfortable being searched by a trans* police officer, particularly those who have experienced prior abuse at the hands of the police or are victims of sexual violence, be allowed the choice of being searched by someone who does not make them uncomfortable. This isn't about prejudice. It's about acknowledging the fact that a lot of people who come into contact with the police are vulnerable and many do have mental health issues which need to be addressed.

I don't think this would be such a problem, except for a minority of people, if it weren't for the fact that the police have a long history of abuse of vulnerable people; including sexual abuse. Frankly, in my few dealings with the police at protests [including ones mostly starring small children protesting school closures], I have experience abuse and outright lies by police officers [and not just because of their tendency to attend protests without visible badge numbers]. I have very little faith in vulnerable people being dealt with fairly or with any kind of consideration and understanding. This decision, whilst beneficial for Trans* officers, isn't good for vulnerable women. And, it is inherently unkind to privilege one group at the expense of another; especially not when there are some very simple compromises which could be made without hurting anyone.

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#RadFem2012 Redux: Manchester's Women Up North Conference

Two days ago, I blogged about the (successful) campaign to prevent Sheila Jeffreys from speaking at the #RadFem2012 conference. The campaign itself was unpleasant with some very serious threats made against the conference as well as an unnecessary amount of misogynistic abuse levelled at the women organising the conference. Here's a hint: if you want me to take you seriously as a Feminist, you do not call other women cunts. Ever. That term is nothing but misogynistic. It can not be reclaimed to be used as a term of abuse.

I was so very sad to hear that the venue, Conway Hall, had ceded to the demands of a vocal minority of aggressive people and banned Sheila Jeffreys. I do not see the need to have inclusive to everyone feminist conferences all the time. If the activists were so concerned about the silencing of transwomen from the conference, they could have organised a simultaneous conference. Or, gone for peaceful counter-protest. Violent threats and silencing tactics help no one. They only serve to cause ructions within the Feminist movement which is what the Patriarchy wants.

Today, the first thing that came up on my Facebook feed was this blog stating that the activists who have silenced the women from RadFem2012 are now targeting Manchester Feminist Network's Women Up North conference because it is holding one session closed for FAAB survivors of sexual violence. The conference is trans-inclusive except for this one session so I am not sure why it would be targeted. It also has a space for Black-women only and I don't see anyone campaigning against that deliberately excluding people.

This is the response by the Manchester Feminist Network to a question as to whether or not the conference is trans-inclusive:

We don’t see it as transphobic to have some seperate space for born women. Some of the women in our group are vocal advocates of trans-women’s rights. Some of us advocate for trans-women’s human rights but still want to be in born woman space sometimes and don’t see the 2 as mutually exclusive. Many of us have trans-women as family members, friends and work colleagues. As a feminist network of different women we struggle with these differences and yet try to still work together. The compropmise that we came to for Women Up North was that it would generally be open to trans-women but that the sexual abuse survivors and sexuality workshops could be designated born women only as the facilitators requested this. 

The vast majority of sexual abuse is committed on women by men. Most women seek out women only services for support and recovery e.g. rape crisis centres, survivors groups or women counsellors. This doesnt mean that all male counsellors or support services are rapists, but that unfortunately under patriarchy women are understandably sometimes fearful of and uncomfortable around men (just think how differently it impacts on women when having a man or woman walking behind them when alone out at night). Sadly, some of us would not feel as safe/uninhibited in the presence of people who have lived some of their lives as men, however those individuals feel/see themselves and whether they too are survivors of sexual violence. Blame patriarchy for this, not feminist survivors of abuse. Please work with us seperately when requested, and together at all other times to challenge male violence and patriarchy. We have alot of common ground and alot of work to do! Some of us like this article by Jenny Roberts, a trans-woman who used to run the lesbian bookshop and arts festival Libertas http://www.annelawrence.com/buildingbridges.html 

This is our response on the matter and we are unlikely to respond to individual comments, apologies.

It makes me very sad when women's voices are silence because of political lobbying. As I said in my other blogpost, all women [whether they be FAAB or transwomen] have the right to safe spaces to discuss issues which are personal. Lesbian women should not have to discuss domestic violence with heterosexual women if they don't want. Transgendered people have the right to close spaces so they discuss issues of "passing" or surgery without feeling the need to "educate" an audience with no personal experience on the issue. In this, a little bit of kindness and listening to the needs of others wouldn't go remiss. Personally, I think the obvious compromise is to run a second session on sexual violence which is trans-inclusive for those who choose to attend it.

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