The Scottish government “stands firmly behind” the provision of single-sex spaces, a minister has said after the UK equalities watchdog addressed issues raised by an employment tribunal brought by a nurse who objected to sharing a women’s changing room with a transgender doctor.
Sandie Peggie, who has worked as a nurse for NHS Fife for more than 30 years, claims she was subject to unlawful harassment under the Equality Act when she was expected to share a changing room with a trans woman, Dr Beth Upton.
In Holyrood on Tuesday afternoon, the social justice secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said the Scottish government was considering the letter from the EHRC, which has also raised concerns over forthcoming guidance for NHS Scotland that will recommend trans staff be allowed to use their “preferred facilities”.
However, referring to reporting in the Herald that NHS Fife may have broken the law by not carrying out the required equality impact assessment on its changing room policy, White said: “We still don’t know how many public bodies are acting unlawfully when it comes to single-sex spaces.
In England, a group of nurses are suing County Durham and Darlington NHS foundation trust for sexual harassment and sex discrimination because of a policy which allows trans women to use their women’s changing rooms.
