Amended EHRC Code of Practice Statement
The amended EHRC Code of Practice was released on 21 May 2026. This is a document that interprets the Equality Act.
It has been revised since last summer, following the Supreme Court judgement in the For Women Scot v Scottish Government High Court case.
We know that the first draft of the new Code of Practice was cruel, inhumane, and discriminatory towards trans people.
We campaigned for that draft to be rejected and demanded that any new version should be one that fully considered and guaranteed the human rights of all trans people in the UK.
Now, the Government have published the amended Code. However, we know that this new draft is still exclusionary and unnecessary.
Trans people deserve the same treatment as everyone else, and a Code that cheapens or weakens our rights and protections makes a mockery of the Equality Act and the principles it was built on.
The revised Code will now be laid before Parliament for 40 days, after which it is almost certain to become law.
Lots of people will make claims about what is and isn’t going to happen as a result, and there will be many different interpretations of the Code in the next few days. We urge everyone not to jump to conclusions.
We’re taking time to seek legal advice and understand its impact on trans lives, and on our services, and we’ll give a full statement as soon as we can.
Whatever happens, we’ll never stop creating spaces where trans people thrive and building futures where trans people belong.
There’s a lot of fear and uncertainty in the community right now, and we’re feeling it too. If you’d like to talk to someone, please reach out.
- For those over 18, please reach out to our Support Line on 0800 640 8046, via WhatsApp on 07592 650 496 or by email on supportline@genderedintelligence.co.uk.
- For those under 18, please reach out to Mermaids Support Line, (Monday – Friday, 1pm – 8:30pm) on 0808 801 0400.
If you need support over the Bank Holiday Weekend, please see the following services:
- For those over 18, please contact Switchboard LGBT+ (Every day, 10am-10pm) on 08000 119100.
- For those under 18, you can text MERMAIDS to 85258 for 24/7 mental health support from Shout.