A Girlguiding volunteer leader has said they refuse to enforce a new policy banning trans girls from groups.

An anonymous volunteer, who currently leads a Brownies unit in England, told PinkNews that they are planning not to enforce the non-profit organisation’s policy that could force trans girls to be removed from its groups.

Girlguiding, which regulates under-18s groups such as the Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, and Rangers, updated its Equality and Diversity Policy earlier this week to restrict membership to “biologically female” children only.

It said the “difficult decision” was made following “detailed considerations” from its executive members in the wake of the UK Supreme Court judgment on the 2010 Equality Act’s definition of women and sex.

Speaking to PinkNews in the wake of the announcement, the unit leader said they had no plans to enforce the policy and refused to “police” children’s gender.

“Any girl who wants to join my unit can join my unit, I’m not going to police that,” they said. “As far as I’m concerned, there’s no way we can enforce that.”

The unit leader, who has worked with Girlguiding for several years, said volunteers were informed about the policy changes on the same day the announcement was published to the press and only contained small amounts of additional detail.

“We had an email when the ruling came out [in April] saying we’re not changing our E&D policy, but then we had an email [on Tuesday 2 December] and I don’t know whether the press got it first because when I searched it, it was already everywhere.

“It said there were detailed considerations, expert legal advice and input from senior members, young members, and our council, which is very interesting because I don’t know of anyone at my level being consulted.”

Volunteers were reportedly told they would receive further details on the policy next week, but have received no specific notice on how to enforce the ban.

Applicants for Girlguiding groups are not required to submit documents detailing their gender identity such as a passport or birth certificate. Under-18s are also not able to acquire Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs), which legally recognise a person’s gender identity.

‘How is that even enforceable?’

The unit leader said there is no definitive way for volunteers to know which members are trans, since they are not required to divulge that information upon applying.

Girlguiding confirmed to PinkNews earlier this week it has no idea how many trans people are currently in its groups.

“The main thing everyone is asking is, where are we going to even start? How is that even enforceable?”

In its statement announcing the changes, a spokesperson for the regulator noted that adult volunteer roles would remain gender-neutral, as they have done since the organisation’s founding in 1910.

The Brownies leader noted the irony that all genders are able to volunteer in units, but that trans girls who are benefitting from the spaces are being excluded.

They claimed the majority of unit leaders have taken issue with several decisions by the organisation’s board of trustees over the past three years, causing a “divide” between the two groups.

“There’s been this board of trustees over the last three years making these horrendous decisions and there’s been a real kind of divide between the people who are doing the work and the people at the top. There’s a very commonly negative opinion of the board.

“It’s been negatively affecting a lot of our minority members, it’s been one thing after another honestly, but this is the worst by far.”

Girlguiding said it is still committed to inclusion despite the ruling, vowing to continue supporting young people and adults in marginalised groups.

“Over the next few months, we will continue to explore the opportunities to champion this value and actively support young people who need us,” they said.

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