Home   News   Article

Subscribe Now

Liz Truss presents major bill to parliament which aims to ‘strengthen safeguards for young people and women’




Liz Truss has presented a major bill to parliament which aims to “strengthen safeguards for young people and women”.

On Wednesday, the South West Norfolk MP put forward The Health and Equality Acts (Amendment) Bill in a bid to bring in three significant changes to the law.

She hopes this will protect women’s rights to single-sex spaces, prevent formal state recognition of social transitioning by people aged under 18, and ensure that under-18s cannot undergo body-altering hormone therapies.

South West Norfolk MP Liz Truss put the bill forward in parliament on Wednesday
South West Norfolk MP Liz Truss put the bill forward in parliament on Wednesday

Ahead of presenting the bill, the former Prime Minister said it would:

- Protect single sex spaces by amending the Equality Act to clarify that the protections it affords to “sex” refer unambiguously to biological sex.

- Provide clarity by preventing formal recognition by schools and the state of social transitioning by under-18s.

- Ban any individual under 18 accessing hormone treatment to treat gender dysphoria, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Ms Truss said: “It has become clear that the law as it stands is not providing sufficient protection for young people or indeed adult women.

“Getting this law onto the Statute Book would not only safeguard the rights of women and protect the wellbeing of our children, but it would also be a significant victory for common sense.”

The bill has been sponsored by MPs including Rt Hon Dame Priti Patel, Ian Paisley, Jackie Doyle-Price, Dr Caroline Johnson, Nick Fletcher, Miriam Cates, Ben Bradley, Tom Hunt, Robin Millar, Andrew Lewer and Marco Longhi.

In late November 2023, Baroness Falkner, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, wrote that “government should lean towards a biological definition of sex as the fairest way of protecting everyone’s rights” as part of The Equality Act.

When it comes to hormone therapy, Ms Truss has also cited the fact that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been unable to conclude that it does not impact on the bone density, kidney function, liver function, and cognitive development of adolescents.

She also referred to a 2022 Cass Review which said that social transitioning is “an active intervention because it may have significant effects on the child or young person in terms of their psychological functioning”.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More