On the trans+ liberation demo in central London following the Supreme Court ruling (Photo: Guy Smallman)
Transphobes are celebrating after an employment tribunal ruled that an NHS trust created a “hostile environment” for cis women.
A group of nurses made transphobic complaints about Rose Henderson, a trans woman, to the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust in 2023.
Claimants took issue with her using the women’s staff changing room in the hospitals—something she had been doing for four years with no issue.
Bigots are claiming that this is a “victory for common sense” and are urging all NHS trusts to review their policies.
The tribunal said that complaints of sex discrimination in the Trust were “well founded” and that it had “subjected the claimants to harassment” by not providing alternative changing facilities.
But it ruled to dismiss the transphobic claims made against Henderson. The ruling explicitly states that she “did not behave improperly whilst using the changing room.”
In fact, the ruling stated that the need for “the claimants to be educated on trans rights and to broaden their mindsets.”
Jordan, an occupational therapist at an NHS trust in London, told Socialist Worker she found the case “really infuriating.”
“If you look at the media it’s framed as a victory, but it’s not as simple as that.
“It is a clear case of a trans woman being bullied though.
“There is a genuine issue in NHS staff changing rooms. There’s an issue in all staff facilities, from where you heat up your food to where you hang your coat. None of it is adequate. But none of that is because of trans+ people.”
She explained that “Our biggest worry in the NHS isn’t trans+ people. We’re dealing with massive underfunding, cuts and redundancies.”
The use of the “culture wars” inside the NHS divides workers and distracts from these legitimate issues.
“It’s ridiculous that this is what people are campaigning over when we have all these genuine problems in the NHS. All Henderson wanted to do was go to work”
Henderson told the tribunal how she was harassed by “hordes” of transphobes. Tens of thousands of people abused her on social media and in public forums.
The case was supported by the Christian Legal Centre. They say that being gay is “harmful” and spread the dangerous myth that medical transition causes “lasting damage”.
Jordan said that though the right wing media had whipped up a storm around the issue, “if you actually added all these people up, they’d be in the minority.
“The majority of people are not transphobic.
“I think a lot of people working in the NHS, in society, are horrified.”
Regardless of the claims against Henderson being dropped, this case will embolden right wingers and bigots who want to attack women’s and trans+ rights.
We cannot let this set the precedent. An onslaught of transphobia is coming with the provisional laws following the Supreme Court ruling in April last year.
They will likely be highly invasive and police women’s bodies. This will harm all women and girls. The Transport Police have already said they will allow male officers to strip search any women they “suspect” of being trans.
Socialists have to win the trade union movement to fight for trans+ rights in the workplace.
Fight every attempt to exclude, isolate and attack trans+ people
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