The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled that “man”, “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to sex, not self-ID or paperwork (gender-recognition certificates). This agreed with our legal interpretation. We have published new guidance and are in the process of updating our publications to reflect the judgment. We are also working to provide answers to the questions we're hearing from supporters and the media. We will publish these as soon as possible.
In December 2021, the Police Chiefs’ Council approved a policy that permitted officers to strip and even intimately search suspects of the opposite sex if they self-identified as the same “gender” as the person being searched.
The WRN confirmed that of the 47 forces consulted, 35 have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, this policy.
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