Features / trans rights
Safe Spaces: the group calling for Bristol businesses to support trans rights
In April, the Supreme Court held that the definition of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ and ‘sex’, within the context of the 2010 Equality Act, legally refer to biological sex.
That decision continues to have repercussions across Bristol and spawned the creation of Safe Space Bristol.
Founded by actor, creative and advocate Carys Daniels, Safe Space Bristol is an advocacy group, calling for to businesses publicly pledge their support for trans customers.
is needed now More than ever
There are now several Safe Space groups across the UK, but the first was founded in Bristol.
“The page was set up to reach the diverse businesses we have in the city,” Carys told Bristol24/7. “Business owners were asked to take a stand and commit to being a place where their trans customers, and of course all their customers, can feel safe to access.”
Safe Space Bristol is now calling on businesses to sign a letter calling on the government to stop proposals included as part of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) upcoming Code of Practice for the Equality Act.
If adopted, these proposals could risk the exclusion of trans people from businesses and public services.
Carys Daniels at a recent Safe Space Bristol event at the Watershed
Committing to creating safe venues for all
When first reaching out to business to see if they would adopt a Safe Space pledge, Carys reached out to businesses she knew in Bristol.
The advocacy group has now grown to other UK cities and towns and there are now 25 Safe Space groups.
Carys said 800 businesses have now declared themselves as Safe Spaces across the UK. She explained: “The success of Safe Space shows there is an appetite for people to take action. The current political climate in the UK benefits from us feeling helpless. Safe Space is a push back against the anti-trans rhetoric, which is being bred by a few very loud voices.”
The EHRC Code of Practice
Carys believes the current version of the EHRC’s Code of Practice lays out a very extreme interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling. It could see venues having to enforce single-sex spaces according to biological gender. “This creates the risk of staff having to become gender police. With extreme ideas including having to see people’s birth certificates. It’s an unmanageable thing to ask of a business,” she explained.
The Safe Space pledge businesses are asked to agree to when joining Safe Space Bristol
Carys added: “There are challenging financial implications of needing to change facilities and provisions when small to medium businesses are already struggling in this economic climate.”
A public consultation on the EHRC Code of Practice ended in June and it is expected that the final revised version of the code will be published later this year.
Bristol’s reputation as a liberal city
“From a Bristol perspective, I’ve spoken to many businesses. Yes, there are legal and financial implications of enforcing this Code of Practice. However, it also goes against the cultural grain of what a lot of Bristol businesses stand for. These venues are proud to offer a safe space to everyone in our city. They are being asked to engage in excluding their customers, policing gender and gender expression. Understandably, this is something Bristol businesses do not want to engage with,” said Carys.
Carys explained that Bristol has been her home since 2012. She says it is a city that has always championed inclusivity and diversity. “I was optimistic about setting up Safe Spaces here, I’ve known our city to take stands that have fallen within my moral alignment. When other causes have stood up in this city, Bristol has made headlines for doing what I would consider the right thing. I think that’s what makes our city very special,” said Carys.
Carys continued that soon when Safe Spaces again around ten businesses signed the pledge. As soon as she started posting about it on social media, the Safe Spaces Instagram page’s inbox was flooded with businesses wanting to be involved.
Safe Space Bristol launched a nationwide movement to support trans rights
Carys explained that, without this success in Bristol, the wider UK Safe Space movement might not have been so successful. Bristol was the foundation and social proof that venues declaring themselves as Safe Spaces works.
Declaring Support
Carys said: “It’s so important the Code of Practice is fought against. We are focusing on the dignity and rights of one minority group, trans people. This is what Safe Spaces as a UK-wide movement stands for. However, it’s also more than just trans people. It’s about ideals of inclusion and fairness in workplaces and public life being non-negotiable.
“These moral panics about a minority group have been weaponised as a tool to punch down and distract from some very alarming threats we face. I would call that unforgivable.
“Trans people are terrified, the current anti-trans rhetoric is brandishing trans people as threats. Threats that need removing from public life, is the sentiment people are feeling. It is not ok for us to say that a swathe of people should ever be made to feel like that.
“It’s not a representative view of the networks I’m a part of, my peer groups, this city we call home or the values of the country I thought I knew growing up. I think we’re better than this.
“Safe Spaces is a good example of using your voice, even when you don’t know what you might be able to achieve with it. All it takes is to use a voice, give a platform to it and allow other people to come and stand in solidarity. That’s what happened with Bristol and Safe Spaces.”
Carys said they are not asking businesses to become on trans lives, instead “what we are saying is this is wrong, this shouldn’t happen. Businesses will be asked to comply with this, whether they want to or not. A very powerful way we can say this does not match our ideals, is to come together, and sign the letter”.
If you are a business owner in Bristol and want to sign the letter opposing proposals in the draft EHRC Code of Practice, you can find more information here.
To find out more about Safe Space Bristol, follow their Instagram.
All photos: Safe Space Bristol
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