We, the undersigned, write to express serious and urgent concerns about the actions of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the apparent unwillingness of the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) to investigate them. It is becoming increasingly clear that the EHRC is no longer operating as an impartial human rights body. Over the past several years, its leadership has shifted in a direction that appears ideologically driven, hostile to trans equality, and closely aligned with lobbying groups who advocate for the removal of legal protections for transgender people. These groups - including Sex Matters, Policy Exchange, and the LGB Alliance - have played a significant role in reshaping public discourse and influencing legal interpretations of the Equality Act 2010. We are calling on the Women and Equalities Committee to launch an immediate and transparent inquiry into: - The EHRC’s internal decision-making processes regarding the definition of “sex” under the Equality Act 2010; - All communications, meetings, and correspondence between the EHRC and external lobbying organisations from 2020 to the present; - The EHRC’s advice to government departments, ministers, and the courts—especially its role in shaping the outcome of For Women Scotland v The Lord Advocate [2024] UKSC 59. As transgender people and allies, we are gravely concerned that this advice, and the EHRC’s developing policy stance have been influenced not by human rights or evidence, but by ideological lobbying and political convenience. We must understand who the EHRC has been speaking to, what was said, and why these decisions were made. Anything less is a dereliction of democratic oversight. When this concern was submitted privately to the Committee, the response received was simply that our concerns had been “noted.” This dismissive language is sadly familiar to many of us. It is part of a broader institutional pattern in which trans people are told to wait while decisions are made behind closed doors - only to be informed later that the outcome is “now a matter of law” and nothing can be done. We see this tactic for what it is: strategic neglect. To delay inquiry until harm is done is to collude in that harm. We are raising the alarm before the EHRC publishes its new statutory guidance - while there is still time to act. If that guidance narrows the legal definition of sex in a way that erodes trans people’s protections under the Equality Act, Parliament cannot claim it was caught by surprise. The warning is being given now. The cost of inaction is already being felt: - Trans people are being excluded from services, toilets, and spaces we’ve safely used for years. - Healthcare providers, schools, and local authorities are left in legal confusion, often defaulting to exclusion or delay. - Those of us with legal recognition are increasingly being treated as anomalies or exceptions to be questioned. - Public prejudice is being whipped into a frenzy, making trans people's lives harder and more risky day to day. This is not how human rights bodies should function. We are demanding answers, not after harm has occurred, but now, when scrutiny still has the power to prevent further damage.

Demanding an Inquiry into the EHRC’s Handling of Trans Rights

This open letter is following up, after I sent a letter to the Women and Equalities Committee demanding an urgent inquiry into the EHRC’s handling of trans issues and its secretive ties to anti-trans lobby groups. The Committee’s response so far? "We note your concerns." They are hoping we stay quiet until it’s too late, so they can shrug and say 'we can't do anything - it's the law' We cannot stay silent, we cannot rest - I WILL NOT, while there is still breath in my body! - Ami Foxx