Girlguiding ‘forced’ to ban transgirls from joining the Rainbows and Brownies

Girlguiding in the UK will no longer admit transgender girls into their groups in a move dubbed as a ‘horrible act of violence’.

Around 300,000 young people are members of the Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers groups, but now only those recorded female at birth will be able to join.

The organisation said they made the ‘difficult decision’ after ‘detailed considerations, expert legal advice and input from senior members, young members’.

And it comes after a former Girlguiding leader said she was expelled due to her ‘gender-critical’ beliefs.

Ex-unit leader Katie Alcock, a psychology lecturer at Lancaster University, initiated legal proceedings against Girlguiding when she was ‘kicked out’ of the organisation in 2018.

She said: ‘I was concerned men and boys would be in safeguarding-relevant situations such as changing for swimming, such as using toilets, such as sleeping in the same hall.

‘I said (before the exclusion) I would follow any policy of Girlguiding as long as it didn’t conflict with safeguarding and they said this wasn’t acceptable.’

Trans rights campaigners have claimed Girlguiding was ‘being forced to exclude young trans girls by adults with bigotries and institutional power’.

Campaign group TransActual described the policy change as ‘yet another horrible act of violence against the most vulnerable trans people’.

They said: ‘It’s awful that an organisation, which would happily be inclusive and has been for many years, is being forced to exclude young trans girls by adults with bigotries and institutional power.

‘There is no problem being solved here, only harm being done.

‘This is yet another horrible act of violence against the most vulnerable trans people for which the government is ultimately responsible.

‘Another trauma that will leave a generation of young LGBTQ+ people scarred for life.’

Members range in age from four to 18 and Girlguiding said it does not collect gender identity information and therefore does not have numbers for how many might be affected by the rule change.

Under the policy, trans boys will be able to join as they will have been recorded female at birth.

Girlguiding’s chairwoman of trustees, Denise Wilson, its chief executive Felicity Oswald and its chief guide Tracy Foster released a joint statement, saying: ‘Girlguiding has reached the difficult decision that going forward, membership of Girlguiding will be restricted to girls and young women, as defined in the Equality Act (2010).

‘From today (December 2), trans girls and young women, and others not recorded female at birth, will no longer be able to join Girlguiding as new young members.

‘Girlguiding believes strongly in inclusion, and we will continue to support young people and adults in marginalised groups.

‘Over the next few months, we will explore potential ways to champion this value. A new task force will look at ways to do this, in partnership with members.

‘While Girlguiding may feel a little different going forward, our core aims and principles will always endure and we remain committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect, particularly those from marginalised groups that have felt the biggest impact of this decision.’

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