The University ofWarwick has said it is ‘deeply sorry’ after temporarily updating a policy to exclude trans people from single-sex toilets.

The West Midlands university came under fire earlier this week after temporarily updating its Trans Inclusion Code of Conduct policy to force trans students and staff to only use facilities such as changing rooms and toilets consistent with their “sex assigned at birth.”

It comes after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued non-statutory interim guidance, based on a UK Supreme Court ruling on the definition of women in the 2010 Equality Act.

The controversial guidance recommends that trans people be excluded from all gendered toilets, including those associated with their sex assigned at birth.

The University of Warwick told PinkNews that it had published the updated policy, which has since been taken down, in “error” and apologised for the “pain and upset” caused by what it says was a draft version of the policy.

“In light of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s interim guidance and legal developments, we are continuing to review our policy,” a spokesperson continued.

Warwick University students ‘afraid’ over new policy

Before the policy was removed from its webpage, it reportedly read that trans people “may use facilities – such as toilets and changing rooms – that are (1) identified as those for the trans person’s sex assigned at birth, or (2) that are identified as gender neutral.”

Its implications have caused immense concern among trans and non-binary students, who said in statements shared by local group Trans At Warwick that they would “not feel safe to go to the toilet.”

“I’ve felt very afraid, I’m scared to come onto campus now,” another trans student said. “I was going to stay for further study, but I’m now going to switch and get away from here despite how well I’ve found the teaching and my high grades.”

Several students vowed to leave the University of Warwick over the possibility that the policy would be introduced, with another student saying they believe “the University really doesn’t care about the wellbeing of its students.”

“I was previously strongly considering applying to study postgraduate in life sciences at the university, but with this policy in place that would be absolutely unthinkable,” another student said.

Leaders of another Warwick University LGBTQ+ group, Trans* Society, said its stance is that the updated policy is “hateful”.

“We do not understand why the University is taking this stance, especially against sector advice,” a spokesperson continued. “We call on the University to reinstate its old code.”

Unions urged the University of Warwick to stick with a trans-inclusive policy

PinkNews heard from a member of the University and College Union’s (UCU’s) Warwick chapter on the basis of anonymity, that trade unions, including Unison, Unite, and UCU, made it “perfectly clear” that the policy would result in harassment against trans people.

They said that LGBTQ+ members of the unions “dug deep” by using personal experiences of harassment to convey the risk that the policy poses, which included being “followed into bathrooms” and “growing up under Section 28.”

“Management remained committed to their narrative that the interim guidance trumps everything,” the member alleged. “When we suggested making the majority of campus toilets unisex, they told us it would be too expensive to make the changes.”

The UCU, which represents more than 120,000 academic staff in the UK, remained committed to its policy of “proudly and actively” supporting the trans community following the Supreme Court ruling.

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