To the NSW Parliament

We are concerned about NSW government departments and institutions changing policies to remove sex-specific spaces and services. This is taking place where ‘gender identity’ is replacing ‘sex’ as the dominant category to organise society.

Replacing ‘sex’ with ‘gender identity’ undermines safeguarding principles. Safeguarding controls the risk of harm to women and children. Statistically, the risk of harm to women and children is from the opposite sex (men). Sex-specific spaces like changing rooms, domestic violence shelters, rape crisis centres, prisons, hospital wards, sports teams, school and public toilets, and sex-specific intimate personal and health care (including, among others, disability and aged care) protect the safety and dignity of women and children. Sex segregation where women are vulnerable promotes their inclusion in society. Some women self-exclude from public facilities and services that may compromise their safety or dignity, reducing opportunities to enjoy full and healthy lives.

Protecting ‘gender identity’ over ‘sex’ also significantly impacts lesbians and gay men, extinguishing rights to associate based on ‘sex’, considering sexual orientation is sex-based, not gender-based.

Erasing ‘sex’ and associated protections does not mean equality for all.

We seek to allow all people of NSW continued access to select sex-specific spaces and services for their safety and dignity. This petition asks the NSW Legislative Assembly to call on the government to protect the sex-based rights of people in NSW by introducing an Act and/or amendment that unambiguously declares ‘sex’ to be a protected category in NSW.