Disability Rights UK issues “unequivocal solidarity with trans people” in powerful statement firmly opposing new EHRC guidance, stating it “will not be used as a ‘loophole’ in the wider erosion of trans rights”
Disability Rights UK (DR UK) has issued a statement expressing their solidarity with trans and intersex people, as well as the wider LGBTQ+ community, following the release of The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s Code of Practice.
The updated code has been published more than a year after a landmark Supreme Court ruling in April 2025, which determined the words “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
The new code addresses a variety of scenarios from sport, where it states trans people should compete alongside others of their birth sex rather than gender identity, to hospital wards, which it says can lawfully exclude trans patients if single-sex.
The Government stated the new code “gives organisations clear, workable guidance which will enable them to take a pragmatic approach to protecting and serving the needs of our society” and supports service providers such as hospitals, cafes and leisure centres “in ensuring they can make practical, and ultimately sensible decisions for every day scenarios, such as toilet provision”.
DR UK stated that the updated code “sets a dangerous precedent for the weakening of protected characteristics and risks further ostracisation of trans and intersex people from public life” and reiterates that the charity “firmly opposed” the Supreme Court’s judgement last year.
The code indicates that toilets designated as male or female should be for those of that biological sex, and that trans people can use accessible toilets, individual lockable toilets or unisex toilets. DR UK said this is a “vain attempt to get two marginalised groups to blame one another.”
“Our RADAR key scheme began in 1981, rooted in the understanding that accessible facilities can be the difference between living the lives we deserve – socialising, travelling and working – and complete social exclusion.
“We are appalled at implications from the Code that an adequate workaround is trans people using Disabled toilets instead. It is a vain attempt to get two marginalised groups to blame one another for our lack of facilities, when the blame lies firmly at the feet of policymakers. We will not fall for it. We will not be used as a ‘loophole’ in the wider erosion of trans rights.”
The statement highlights how the disabled community “knows how it feels to be scapegoated” for trying to access services needed to live, underlining that “trans rights do not come at the expense of Disabled, nor anyone else’s.”
DR UK expressed its concern about the implications of the EHRC guidance in hospital settings and claim it “invites increased medical stigma and negligence … and will lead to even worse health outcomes in an already bleak landscape.”
DR UK concluded its statement by firmly opposing the EHRC Code of Practice revision as it “effectively segregates trans and intersex people from public spaces”, and call on other Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) to do the same.
If you have been affected by this story, contact Mindline Trans+’s emotional and mental health support helpline for anyone identifying as trans, non-binary, gender variant, and their families, friends, colleagues and carers. Their phone line is open Mondays and Fridays, 8pm to midnight. Ring 0300 330 5468.
