Rishi Sunak when addressing the Conservative party at a conference made statements that have had a severe impact on the transgender community. Sunak stated that “men are men and women are women.”
“We shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They can’t.”
This follows Health Secretary Steve Barclays’ proposal that trans women will be banned from NHS women’s wards in order to restore “common sense” to the NHS. As of now, under NHS guidelines, trans women are permitted to be on single-sex wards that align with the gender they identify as and not their biological sex at birth.
While Sunak’s comments have received support from Conservatives, trans rights have sparked a furious debate on all sides of politics.
Michael Johnson, the Socialist Party National Organiser for the LGBT+ group was one of the many attendees at the rally in Leeds fighting for trans rights.
“The majority of the mainstream parties aren’t carrying themselves with grace when it comes to trans issues,” he said. “We want policies that are going to help the trans and LGBT+ community and for the whole of the working class.”
The demonstration was organised by Angels of Freedom, a community-based initiative aimed to provide visible support for the LGBT+ community. One of the organisers and volunteers Bean Lewandowska, said that it is a “scary time to be transgender.”
“I work in the NHS and the comments made about trans women on women’s wards have come from nothing, and when statements like these come from nowhere its really scary. This is why protests and events like this are so important to fight for trans rights.”
Despite the views of the Tories, a 2022 survey by More In Common found that 46 percent of Britons agreed with the statement that “a trans man is a man and a trans woman is a woman.”
Support for the community was clear at the rally, with many holding signs up high and speaking up on trans issues.
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