At the first full-day hearing in trans rights charity Mermaids’ appeal against the Charity Commission’s decision to grant charity status to the LGB Alliance, Paul Roberts, chief executive of the Consortium, said the LGB Alliance was created to seek a anti-trans agenda. In cross-examination, Akua Reindorf QC, for the LGB Alliance, repeatedly questioned whether the label transphobic was merited in this case, arguing that there are areas where lesbian, gay and bisexual rights may not align with the rights of transgender people. which justifies the creation of a separate charitable organization. The day’s hearing at the General Regulatory Chamber explored the line between transphobia and campaigning for separate rights for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. The questions focused on many controversial areas of LGBTQ+ rights. At the beginning of the hearing there was a discussion about the changing definition of sexual orientation. The definition given by the country’s largest LGBTQ+ organization, Stonewall, has shifted over the past decade from “same-sex attracted” to “same-sex attracted.” The LGB Alliance says it was founded to defend the rights of same-sex attracted people. Reindorf asked Roberts, “Do you think it’s transphobic to say that a person with a female body can’t be gay?” Roberts replied, “Yes.” Reindorf asked whether being attracted to people of the same sex was “a qualitatively different thing” than being attracted to people of the same sex. “I don’t believe we live in such a clear, binary way,” Roberts replied. Reindorf also highlighted concerns raised by the LGB Alliance that some children referred to gender identity services might otherwise have been gay but were offered puberty blockers as a treatment for gender dysphoria. He cited media interviews with staff at the Tavistock Clinic, warning that potential same-sex attraction is being ignored, and noted that some clinicians had said that sending children who might be gay on the gender reassignment pathway was akin to “conversion therapy”. Roberts said there was “evidence of transphobia” in that post. Roberts was asked about questions raised in Hilary Cass’s review of gender identity services for children and young people about the 4,400% rise in the number of young girls, a disproportionately high proportion of whom are same-sex attracted, being referred to service. “There seems to be a surprising spike in same-sex attracted girls who identify as male and seek medical treatment. If that’s the case, then isn’t that a matter of great concern for an organization that promotes LGBT rights?” Reindorf asked. Roberts said he wasn’t an expert in the field, but added that in his day-to-day work he saw “a lot of young trans people and a lot of trans adults living healthy lives, and that’s not going to reflect their experiences.” Roberts was also asked whether lesbians should be denied membership on lesbian dating sites if they said they would refuse to date trans women, and whether he agreed with comments made by Nancy Kelley, its chief executive. Stonewall, that not Wanting to date a trans person was ‘sexual racism’. He said no one should be forced to have sex with someone against their will. In 2020 the Consortium refused to accept the LGB Alliance into its umbrella group of organisations, of which Mermaids is a member. In arguments released on Monday, Mermaids said it will argue that the LGB Alliance “does not address issues facing lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but rather seeks to prevent issues facing transgender people from being resolved.” In its key arguments the LGB Alliance said the appeal was ideologically motivated, stemming from a “deep disagreement with the LGB Alliance’s approach to the promotion and protection of LGB rights”. It is understood to be the first time one charity has attempted to strip another of its legal status. The hearing will continue until Friday.
