Transgender girls will be forced to leave Girlguiding by the start of the autumn after the organisation was accused of prioritising their needs over safeguarding.
Bosses said today all trans girls – those born male but identifying as female – must stop attending Guides, Brownies and Rainbows groups from September 6.
The move follows an announcement in December which stated Girlguiding was no longer accepting trans girls and membership would in future be limited to ‘girls and young women’.
It came in response to the Supreme Court ruling in April last year that ‘woman’ in the Equality Act 2010 referred to a biological woman – meaning single-sex spaces should be preserved.
After the ruling, a mother threatened to sue Girlguiding unless they complied with it – sending them a pre-action legal letter.
This afternoon, she told the Daily Mail: ‘I’m very glad that Girlguiding have finally realised that their focus should be on girls and young women.
‘It is disappointing that I had to threaten legal action for them to realise that girls have the right to spaces without boys, however they identify, and sad that they are delaying further the removal of boys and men until September, but I am happy that they have, finally, come to their senses and recognised what the law requires of them.’
In a statement, Girlguiding said it had consulted lawyers, members, its council and board of trustees before making its final decision.
It added that any trans girl or trans woman who is currently volunteering in a female-only role will have to move by this date to a role open to anyone.
A spokesman said the next five months will give those affected time to plan when they ‘feel ready to leave’.
The mother in the legal action had previously accused Girlguiding of ‘exposing girls to harassment’ and creating a ‘humiliating environment’ by allowing male-born members.
Speaking to the Daily Mail last year under condition of anonymity, she accused the organisation of ‘prioritising boys’ over the last eight years.
She said the policy, in place from 2017, discriminated against her seven-year-old daughter because it would mean her sharing toilets, showers and changing rooms with male-born youngsters, without prior consent.
She said this could potentially create the same ‘safeguarding risks’ as sharing with any other boy.
She said the organisation had chosen the ‘vanishingly tiny number of boys and men who identify as female’ and decided to ‘prioritise them over all the girls and women who want to be a part of Girlguiding’.
Today, Paul Conrathe, partner at Conrathe Gardner LLP, which represented her, said: ‘The Girl Guides have, rather belatedly, brought their polices in line with the law.
‘[It] should sound a warning shot to those organisations that refuse to comply with their legal obligations after the Supreme Court judgement.
‘If they refuse to change they run the significant risk of being sued.’
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, said: ‘By thinking it could redefine sex and make up its own rules, Girlguiding showed no concern or understanding for girls’ rights and boundaries.
‘But it also failed to think clearly about what boys confused about their sex really need, which isn’t validation in a falsehood.
‘This shameful episode of harming children in the name of “inclusion” went on for far too long, but at least it is now drawing to an end.’
Girlguiding groups cater for ages four to 18 and there are currently around 300,000 members, as well as around 80,000 volunteers.
The organisation does not know how many members will be affected by the change.
