On May 21st the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) Code of Practice (Code) for Services, Public Functions and Associations on the Equality Act 2010 was laid before the UK Parliament by the UK Minister for Equalities. This Code of Practice was updated following the Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of “sex” in the Equality Act in 2025.
At the moment, it is likely that the Code as published will come into effect from mid-July (40 days starting from when the Code was laid). This Code adversely impacts opportunities for trans people to access their rights. It means that businesses, services and public bodies across the UK will be strongly encouraged to follow statutory guidance which excludes and segregates trans people.
As a LGBT young person’s charity, we are focussing on potential implementation of the EHRC Code in relations to schools, education and when working with young people.
If you would like to better understand the EHRC Code of Practice, our friends at Scottish Trans have posted their thoughts. Please visit their website Our Thoughts on the EHRC’s Updated Code of Practice – May 2026 – Scottish Trans
Our opinion of the Code
We consider that the Code fails to properly recognise or respond to the lived realities and needs of trans young people in accessing services, while also creating confusion and uncertainty for those responsible for providing support.
By framing trans young people as separate from their peers, it risks reinforcing exclusion and undermining their ability to access the same dignity, safety and opportunities as other children and young people. In doing so, it may engage and undermine a range of rights protected under the UNCRC.
Any blanket or inflexible application of the EHRC Code is legally vulnerable where it fails to demonstrate an individualised, evidence-based and proportionate assessment of impact on children’s rights, including non-discrimination, best interests, participation, privacy, protection from harm, health and access to education.
We are not lawyers and do not give legal advice. This summary is intended to help explain the challenges in education and working with young people due to the Code of Practice and what this might mean for our community. It should not be read as directive, and those who have duties under the Equality Act and Human Rights Act should obtain legal advice where required.
We may update this page over time as our understanding of the Code changes.
What are young people saying?
Members of our Trans Rights Youth Commission have told us:
“As a trans young person, it deeply worries me how much time, money, and resources are being wasted on an issue that simply never existed.”
“We have seen this kind of platformed hate before in history, and it feels like we never learn. Trans people are human beings, and trans children do not deserve this. This hostile guidance and media storm will only force trans kids to hide who they are.”
“The impacts of this are likely to worsen trans young people’s mental health by excluding us from our peers and limiting routes for support.””
“I personally think that the code is a shame to see, I feel it fails both trans and cis people alike and encourages a culture of exclusion, stereotyping based on outward appearances, and encourages the idea that trans people are something to fear, something to be made uncomfortable by, and more so that feeling uncomfortable merely in the presence of a trans person is normal”.
“Already, we have seen services and organisations begin to close their doors to trans people, something that removes both support and employment opportunities for a group of people who are already struggling.”
The Code and UNCRC
The UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 requires public authorities to act compatibly with the UNCRC requirements.
Where the Code is interpreted as requiring exclusion from gendered facilities by sex at birth, the impact on children and young people will be immediate and significant. In a school context, consequences are likely to include stigma, distress, reduced participation, interference with privacy, increased vulnerability to bullying, and barriers to full and equal enjoyment of education. These effects could engage legally protected children’s rights outlined below.
- Article 2 – Non-discrimination: all rights apply to every child without discrimination of any kind.
- Article 3 – Best interests of the child: the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children.
- Article 12 – Right to be heard: children have the right to express their views freely in matters affecting them, with those views given due weight.
- Article 16 – Right to privacy: children are entitled to protection against arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy.
- Article 19 – Protection from harm: children must be protected from all forms of physical or mental violence, abuse, neglect, or maltreatment.
- Article 24 – Right to health: children have a right to the highest attainable standard of health, including mental health.
- Articles 28 and 29 – Right to education: education must be accessible and directed to the development of the child’s personality, abilities, dignity, and respect for human rights.
The Code and Scottish Government Guidance
Scottish Government statutory and non-statutory guidance also requires schools and education authorities to consider the individual needs of transgender pupils, local circumstances, school context and the need to balance the rights of all. The revised Scottish Government guidance for Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools published in September 2025 states that it is “essential” that schools and education authorities consider in detail the individual needs of transgender pupils in light of those factors.
The revised Scottish Government guidance is expressly framed around detailed consideration of individual circumstances, including the individual needs of transgender pupils, the local context, the school context and the balancing of rights. It also recognises the legal significance of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.
By contrast, the EHRC Code’s approach on single-sex spaces has widely been understood as encouraging categorical exclusion from facilities associated with a pupil’s lived gender, subject only to alternative provision. In education settings, that approach sits uneasily with guidance that requires child-centred assessment rather than predetermined outcomes.
The contradiction is particularly acute in relation to confidentiality, records, toilets and changing facilities, PE, trips, bullying prevention and participation in school life. Scottish guidance emphasises safe, respectful and inclusive learning environments, confidentiality, involvement of young people in decisions affecting them, and avoidance of unnecessary disclosure of transgender status. Policies and practices should be developed to ensure there is no outing of trans people without their permission as this directly contravenes with human rights in relation to private life, segregation, avoidable stigma or diminished participation, it is open to argument that the measure frustrates the purpose of the Scottish guidance and is incompatible with the rights framework that guidance is designed to support.
What can Scottish organisations do?
The clearest position is that schools, local authorities, other public authorities and those supporting young people should not treat EHRC guidance as determinative. Rather, they should be required to demonstrate that they have:
- Identified the relevant UNCRC rights engaged
- Heard and considered the child’s views
- Assessed best interests, privacy, safety, education and wellbeing in the circumstances of the individual case;
- Any restriction is evidence-based, necessary and proportionate
This approach is consistent with the revised Scottish schools guidance, and the wider GIRFEC framework.
LGBT Youth Scotland promises to:
- Always champion the rights of trans people in Scotland and the UK
- Platform young people’s voices
- Challenge the Scottish and UK governments on how they will engage with trans and non-binary young people
- Work with the Scottish Government to support trans and non-binary pupils in schools
- Create guidance for our young people on staying safe
- Support partners on how to continue to include trans and non-binary people, service users and staff whilst minimising risk
References
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.
- Scottish Government, Supporting transgender pupils in schools: guidance for education authorities and schools – revised (29 September 2025).
- Scottish Government, Statutory guidance on Part 2 of the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024.
- LGBT Youth Scotland, Manifesto 2026: Speaking Up for Our Future – Manifesto for Scotland’s LGBTQ+ Young People 2026–2031.
- EHRC interim update and subsequent draft code materials on single-sex spaces following the For Women Scotland litigation.
- Relevant case law and commentary including For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers and subsequent litigation concerning the EHRC interim guidance.