A women’s rights group has filed a lawsuit against the British Transport Service (BTP) challenging guidance allowing trans-identified males to conduct intimate searches on female travelers.
The plaintiffs argue that the policy violates the human rights of female travelers by forcing them to submit to being searched by biological men.
The BTP is a national special police force tasked with monitoring railways and light-rail systems in the United Kingdom. Their primary function involves preventing and investigating crimes committed on the railway network.
The new policy allows trans-identified members of the BTP to strip-search women if they possess a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). This formal government document enables people to be legally recognized as their chosen gender identity. In order to obtain this document, an individual must be over 18 years old and have identified as their chosen gender for a certain period of time.
Maya Forstater, CEO of human rights charity Sex Matters, argued that the policy forces women to endure “undignified and humiliating treatment, which is a breach of her human rights,” according to The Telegraph.
She further explained that the organization is suing the BTP “to ensure that no woman in the UK has to suffer this degrading treatment, and to protect female officers from being forced to search male suspects who decide to declare themselves ‘women.’”
The guidance, which was originally obtained by The Daily Mail, also allows BTP officers to wear “uniform in whichever gender they choose” while also using changing rooms and showers that match their chosen gender identity.
Despite the backlash, the BTP has stood by its guidance, pointing to the supposedly stringent requirements for obtaining a GRC.
“The force wrote: “As has been outlined previously, Parliament has imposed stringent safeguards in respect of the ability of an individual to obtain a GRC. It is not enough simply that a man identifies themselves as a female to obtain one.”
Those who are subject to being searched can raise objections if it involves a member of the opposite sex. In this case, the guidance suggests that the trans-identified officer can be replaced. “This is regularly done in practice for many reasons, such as a way to de-escalate conflict,” the guidance reads, according to The Daily Mail.
Other law enforcement agencies have attempted to employ a similar measure. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) in January revoked this guidance after public backlash. It announced that it would conduct a review of the policy.
As the police force indicated, people can opt out of being searched by a trans-identified individual. Supporters appear to believe this makes the policy acceptable. However, the societal pressure to conform to gender ideology in the West will likely stop women from speaking out and objecting to a search.
This is one way those promoting progressive gender ideology have forced their ideas on everyone else. Female passengers who say they would rather be searched by a biological woman will be lambasted as transphobes and ostracized from society. Moreover, we have already seen that making comments critical of the trans agenda on social media can result in a not-so-friendly visit from the police.
The policy will only result in the rights of women being violated simply to promote the illusion that men can become women and vice versa – unless this lawsuit succeeds.