Coalition’s anti-trans Bill called out for undermining the safety of all women

Senator Cash said the issue will become a focus of the Liberal Party’s next election campaign, accusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of “betraying Australian women and girls”.

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‘Girls are girls, women are women, boys are boys, men are men’

“I introduced into the Senate the coalition’s bill to restore common sense to the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) and defined sex as biological,” she said on social media.

“Girls are girls, women are women, boys are boys, men are men. Our bill would protect the rights of women and girls in single-sex spaces, for example, pretty obvious ones: toilets, change rooms, domestic violence shelters and sporting facilities.”

“You know, I don’t think this is radical, and it’s certainly not controversial. In fact, it’s just common sense.  But instead of standing with Australian women and girls, Anthony Albanese tonight chose political ideology over their privacy, dignity, and safety.”

“Labor wouldn’t even allow the Senate to debate my bill. That’s an absolute disgrace.”

 

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A post shared by Senator Michaelia Cash (@senatormichaeliacash)

But LGBTQ+ advocates and women’s organisations have warned that the Coalition’s Bill also overrides existing state and territory protections, reversing decades of progress in anti-discrimination law for women, as well as creating unintended consequences for intersex people.

“The SDA provides critical protection for women, trans and gender diverse people and people who are intersex. This Bill would weaken these protections and take Australia backwards by inviting gender policing. No woman should have to prove she is ‘woman enough’ to be protected from discrimination. The strength of the SDA is that it reflects the reality of women’s lives and protects people from discrimination based on harmful gender stereotypes.”

National Convenor of the Women’s Electoral Lobby, Kay Anastassiadis, said the Coalition’s Bill is an “attack on fairness and is out of step with what women want.”

Everyone deserves dignity and the right to be judged on their merits instead of irrelevant assumptions about their identity. We don’t want a situation where women are being judged as ‘not female enough’ to enter a women-only space, just because they might look or sound different to the stereotype.”

“While it may not be the intention of the Coalition, this Bill would fundamentally reshape Australia’s sex discrimination laws in ways that undermine the dignity, privacy and safety of all women. Trans people make up less than one per cent of the population, yet they are being made to carry the weight of a divisive and deeply unfair culture war.”

“This is a community that already experiences disproportionately high rates of discrimination, violence and exclusion. Instead of strengthening protections for people who need them most, this Bill would strip trans women of basic legal protections while weakening the laws that protect all women from sexism and discrimination.

“It risks dragging LGBTIQ+ and women’s rights backwards, causing more division, more confusion and more harm.”

 

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Director of Trans Justice Project, Jackie Turner, said the introduction of the Bill was “a callous attempt to strip away vital protections for our community, a few politicians are willing to throw into chaos the laws that protect all women from discrimination and sexism.”

“Trans people deserve to be protected from discrimination, have the freedom to be ourselves, and feel safe in our communities – just like everyone else. This Bill will turn back the clock on gender equality, making our society less fair and less equal – especially if you are a woman.”

“Our human rights are deeply connected – when you attack the rights of one group, you put the rights of everyone else at risk.”

‘Human biology is more complex than this Bill pretends’

Co-Chair of InterAction for Health and Human Rights, Tony Briffa, highlighted how the Bill creates unintended consequences for intersex people.

“This Bill would force many women born with natural variations of sex characteristics out of the only lives we’ve ever known,” Tony said, “Women who were raised as girls and have always lived, been recognised and accepted as women could suddenly be told they are legally men and excluded from women’s spaces. Where are we expected to go?”

“Human biology is more complex than this Bill pretends. It ignores the reality of intersex people and replaces it with a rigid definition that simply doesn’t reflect the diversity of human bodies. This Bill will not protect women. It’s a clumsy attempt to force people into legal categories that has serious unintended consequences for many women and their families.”

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