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- Common Interest - Sexuality
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- This group is a protest at the inadequate training which led to the stewards in charge of the Trafalgar Square toilets at Pride trying to insist that transwomen use the disabled toilets, and an LGBT liaison officer from the Metropolitan backing them up and claiming that those transfolk who have not applied for a Gender Recognition Certificate have only themselves to blame if they experience discrimination.
It is further to criticize Pride for allowing such situations to arise in what is... (read more) - Privacy Type:
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- Roz (creator)
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- Stop Transphobia at Pride
- Category:
- Common Interest - Sexuality
- Description:
- This group is a protest at the inadequate training which led to the stewards in charge of the Trafalgar Square toilets at Pride trying to insist that transwomen use the disabled toilets, and an LGBT liaison officer from the Metropolitan backing them up and claiming that those transfolk who have not applied for a Gender Recognition Certificate have only themselves to blame if they experience discrimination.
It is further to criticize Pride for allowing such situations to arise in what is... (read more) - Privacy Type:
- Open: All content is public.
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Recent News
- News:
- I have today received an e-mail from Paul Birrell of Pride which states, in part, the following:
As we have tried to state throughout - and I can only apologize if this has not been clear from our writings - Pride London does not support any position where an individual would be prevented from full and open access to facilities in accordance with their gender identity. This has been Pride London's policy since inception, even prior to the amended legislation. I can state quite categorically that Pride London will be not only be complying with the relevant legislation, but will continue to, as it has tried to do in the past, ensure that it progresses rights further than simply the legislative agenda that the government has seen to pass.
You may not believe me, but I was appalled at the very thought of anyone being refused access to the toilets on the basis of their gender identity at what I regard as the one day of the year when we should all be able to walk freely through central London and live our lives without harassment. That's regardless of any legislation. I've been campaigning for LGBT rights for most of my adult life which is why this is as much a personal issue for me, Pride London being a company I run, as opposed to simply a corporate affairs matter as I am sure previous 'Pride', and I use that word advisedly, organizations such as Mardi Gras would have seen it.
There will be no discrimination, either unlawful or indeed in those instances where the law does not as yet extend through the sphere of LGBT rights. We are an LGBT rights organization and we are ensuring that this policy is clear to all contractors as well as organizations that work with us, as opposed to just those that work for us.'
I regard this as entirely addressing the outstanding problem given that the trans woman who was assaulted does not seem to want to pursue the matter further. I am accordingly not pursuing the sub-contractors through the courts and accepting Pride's apology and assurances once and for all.
My thanks to everyone who has supported me on this, especially Christina, Tessa and Neil Young of the GLA.
*****
Pink News have published a story retracting the claims of violence and publicising Commander Allen's statement.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9005.html
********
STATEMENT BY ROZ KAVENEY
Paul Birrell of Pride has confirmed that the Health and Safety Officer responsible for the offensive and unlawful decision to force transwomen to use the disabled toilets was supplied by Capita. My view is that the next step is to make a formal complaint both to Capita and to SFM, the security firm who provided the toilet stewards - the fact that the police and Pride have acknowledged that there was no assault on the stewards by the demonstrators makes it easier to do this. I have a legitimate complaint against both companies which I will pursue - the EHRC have already offered to help with this.
As far as Pride itself goes, my view is that our attitude should depend on how Diana Taylor's role works out. I have for some time been uncomfortable with the necessity of acting as figurehead as one of the two people with an actual complaint. It seems to me that Diana's appointment is enough of a response to my complaints that I can finally accept Pride's apology and hand matters over to the broader trans community to deal with - I would suggest, and I am open to suggestions on this, that I formally do so at a public meeting between Diana in her new role and the community. Depending on everyone's convenience, this might be at the next TransLondon meeting next Tuesday or at some other date subsequently to be arranged.
I would like to emphasize - because I know some people have been unhappy with my role in all of this - that I chose, back at the beginning of this, to take my personal beef over what happened to me (and also to the other woman, the one who was assaulted) and turn it, for my part, into an opportunity to get redress for the community as a whole. I have tried to be as transparent as possible in the processing of my complaint and thus to be accountable; I know that some people, and not only the anonymous P.R.I.D.E. mob, have felt that this is not accountability enough.
In respect of my complaint against the Met and now my complaint against Pride itself, I am only too glad to hand further consideration on to the relevant groups - for the moment, at least, I will have to pursue a personal complaint against Capita and SFM because that is the most convenient way to proceed.
I hope this is all clear.
********
I will say no more about this at this point than that I am unhappy with it. It does not seem to address some of the crucial questions I and others have raised with Pride, notably their failure publicly to retract public remarks accusing us of assaulting security staff - something that the Metropolitan Police have clearly stated did not take place - and it does not really answer the question of how a Health and Safety Officer came to make an unlawful and unilateral decision to bar us from the toilets in the first place. I would also dispute some of the interpretations of fact here - in the interests of transparency, I will consult with people before posting and sending a detailed response, and deciding what actions follow.
Hi Roz
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you but I have been working away from London and have had no access to my emails while away.
I have reviewed with a lot of detail the original response sent out by Pride, which I hasten to add I wrote to you: this was the letter that went into the public domain. At no point do I mention an assault. To give a further apology for doing so is, I feel, unnecessary.
I do remember sending initially to a limited circulation (namely Tessa and Christina) a response that did suggest this, but that was based on information that was given to me by the Met: as such we had to include this, as it was under investigation then. But the official Pride response that went into a far more wider circulation did not have this in it.
Our board was restructured a few years back as we were getting increasing requests to attend the board to present or to discuss matters – this was leading to increasingly long meetings as the event grew, and so the board was closed to non members: with over a dozen board members now, meetings would otherwise become unwieldy. I can assure you that this matter has been discussed as part of our debrief process, however, and I as a director remain happy to discuss matters.
As indicated in all information sent out Pride has moved very quickly to ensure that any such incident not be repeated and have taken appropriate steps to ensure this. Pride has without prejudice apologised to you both privately and in public.
We are also looking at the trans response and recommendations and I have indicated that we would consider them. We have already notified several parties of what action we are taking, but I am not sure how far that's gone or whether information is being passed along, so to recap :
1. Development of a strategy around community stakeholder engagement.
Pride London already has a Stakeholder forum, which Tessa and Christina both attended, amongst others, and which already looks into areas of stakeholder engagement. This is under constant review to make it more effective. And this year we will be reviewing it again to ensure that it is much more accountable.
2. Appointment of a diversity response expert.
Pride London has appointed Diana Taylor to this role. As Diana has been for many years the Trans advocate to Pride she has a very clear proven track record.
3. A diversity response team, with contact numbers for the chain of command.
Diana Taylor has agreed to lead this. However I will say that both Tessa and Christina, as representatives of Pride London’s Trans committee, did have this information on the day. Both Tessa and Christina had my cell number and at no time was I contacted on it, as I can assure you if I was I would have speedily acted
4. Directors to be aware of their sphere of competency
The board of Pride London is well aware of its competencies.
5. Stipulation that all stewards receive Trans awareness training from a recognized organization.
On a practical note this level of training does not exist in the security industry, and the burden of providing that would fall to Pride London. As such, Pride London is hoping to reach a sensible compromise on this, and shall draft documentation that can be presented to stewards as part of their training by our respective contractors. We have already asked that that training forms part of the contract, and that’s been well received in principle. We will monitor this.
6. Pride should provide advocacy training to Stakeholder groups
Pride London is happy to assist with advocacy, but training as such is not something that we’re looking to move into as a charity.
We are also aware of much ‘noise’ on forums and other websites. Much of that is inaccurate or confuses the Met Police and Pride London as one institution. However, as far as we know, the above six points are the main recommendations made to Pride London, and we believe that we have answered these. Please let me know if you are in disagreement.
We at Pride have enjoyed a good working relationship with the Trans community for a number of years and would like to continue to do so for many more to come, so I hope this sets out our position, and hope that you see this in the spirit of good fellowship as it is meant to be.
Hopefully you can agree that Pride London has reacted swiftly to this issue and has agreed on recommendations that we are practically able to implement
Patrick Williams
Director Pride London
Chair (Equality and Diversity ) Stakeholders Committee Pride London/ HR Director Pride London
*******
As a result of the meeting with the Police last Tuesday, we got the following letter:
Steve Allen
Commander,
City of Westminster
8th August 2008
On Tuesday evening, 29th July, I together with other MPS colleagues, met with a number of people from the transgender communities in an open meeting in Westminster. This meeting came about as a consequence of events during Pride celebrations on 5 July.
The meeting generated a lively and helpful discussion about a range of issues covering the relevant incidents and wider issues of trust and confidence between the police and trans people. There were a number of areas talked about where I believe the MPS can now make further progress as a result.
The point was made, a number of times during the evening, about the need for us all to listen to and learn from each other.
Part of the learning has been about the impact on the trans communities of early responses from the MPS. In particular, it is clear that my "open letter" had a very different impact from the one I intended. My intention was to provide reassurance that a senior officer had taken ownership and was determined to learn the organisational lessons that would undoubtedly emerge.
I offer my personal and sincerest apology that my letter did not have the effect I had intended and upon closer reflection I can see why this caused deep upset to some of the trans communities. It was never my intention to suggest that my officer's actions would not be investigated or that there would be no need to offer advice and improved training to him and his colleagues.
It is clear that members of the trans communities and the officer found themselves involved in a set of circumstances for which the trans communities were not responsible. They were clearly the victims. It has been claimed that the demonstrators assaulted stewards - examination of CCTV evidence demonstrates that these claims are mistaken. Despite the best endeavours and intentions of the officer, these obviously came across in a way, which caused misinterpretation, confusion and hurt.
I hope that the response of the MPS speaks more loudly than my initial choice of words. We have taken ownership of the issues at a very senior level; we have circulated advice about the GRA to our officers; we have resolved the complaint against the police officer to the satisfaction of the party involved and continue to investigate with full vigour a number of criminal offences connected with these events. We have also, of course, held an open meeting to maintain dialogue with the community.
I have asked the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate to hold a de-brief of these events with MPS practitioners to ensure we get the maximum learning from them. I know that a significant issue to be taken forward is the raising of awareness and training of our staff and the Diversity & Citizen Focus Directorate are now looking at options that further expand our developing partnerships with our transgender support associations who can assist us with our continued learning of this complex arena of diversity.
We have to start from where we are, not where we would like to be. Mistakes have been made and I and certainly my colleagues within the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate are aware of the disappointment and anxieties the trans communities have felt over this highly regrettable incident. We have for some years striven to understand the many issues, which beset the trans communities and in so many ways we have succeeded in listening and responding.
Obviously the MPS has let you down on this occasion for which we have to double our efforts to repair and restore the much needed trust and confidence which can enable us to progress these issues in order to deliver very real and meaningful change.
Regards
Steve Allen
Commander
This is not perfect, but it goes a long way towards meeting our needs - in particular, it establishes that there was no assault on the security staff, which makes it easier to pursue their mistakes.
I know some people are not happy that we negotiated with the Police, but this is not the worst outcome. There is still the GALOP complaint outstanding, for the moment, until we have digested the implications of this.
"""""""
The police have issued a press release and Commander Allen from Westminster police has issued a public letter (link to follow). Those of us who were involved in the incident do not agree with some of the facts as presented in these documents, and we'll be taking this up with the police. We'll update you all on the outcome when we have news. In the meantime we'd really encourage you all to attend the public meeting with the police and use this as a chance to have your say."
We are working with GALOP on this.
++++++
Trans at Pride and the ad hoc group Stop Transphobia At Pride accept the official apology of London Pride to Roz Kaveney and the broader Trans Community subject to the following provisos:
1. that there be some real movement to accept the suggestions we have made for greater inclusivity and diversity awareness on the Pride board, and that real institutional change follow from this.
2. that there be proposals to deal with the weakness that the incident demonstrated not in Pride's transinclusivity alone, but also to its insitutional skills in crisis management.
3. that Pride's response to the failings of both FSM security and Capita's health and safety people in this matter be made transparent.
4. that FSM and Capita apologize for the incident and indicate preparedness to make institutional change to ensure this never happen again.
5. that Pride, FSM and Capita clarify the earlier incident from which the segregation of the toilets derived. If, as alleged, a transwoman was assaulted by a male in the women's toilets, what happened to her? Was she taken care of and encouraged to make complaints? Why did no one connected with that incident try to contact the Trans Community stall thirty yards away to help us take care of her? We are glad that the Metropolitan Police are investigating the assault, but are shocked at the poor support given her on the spot.
We at Pride deeply regret this incident happened and are doing everything within our power to remedy the situation. As the Appointed Director to handle this issue I am concerned that a lot of misinformation has been circulating with regard to this.
So let me clear some of this up:
Firstly SFM workers are not volunteers for Pride London, they are handled by SFM directly. The incident that took place in the women's toilet did not involve one of Pride's stewards as been reported as we at Pride do not adhere to any discrimination issues. We have a clear policy with regard to toilets and usage by Trans people, that is a Trans woman is clearly allowed to use the women's toilet and a Trans male clearly able to use a male toilet. We would never say to any Trans person to use the disable loo as this is clearly illegal.
SFM have adhered to Pride’s policies for their three years of providing additional stewarding at our events, and this is the first complaint we have had over their handling of such an issue in all that time against all the hundreds of staff that they provide. SFM have assured us that this incident was not how they would normally handle such an issue, and was a genuine mistake. We are working with them to ensure that there is no repetition.
Secondly we at Pride cannot speak on behalf of the Metropolitan Police with regard to this incident. It has been alleged that one of their LGBT liaison officers requested a Gender Recognition Certificate: this is a breach of all legislation in relation to Trans, as very few individuals can request this, and a GRC is never to be used as an ID document. I am sure that the Metropolitan Police will be looking into this.
Thirdly we have very clear policies regarding equality and expect that all sub-contractors adhere to this - this is going to be looked into as a matter of urgency.
*Making this Public statement I must also say that we deeply regret that Roz Kaveney had to endure such an experience at our event, this is deeply regrettable and should never have happened, and so I publicly apologise on behalf of Pride London to her with regard to this, and we will endeavour to ensure that it never happens in the future with respect to any groups that are a part of our Stakeholders forum, or indeed any one attending Pride London’s events.*
When things like this happen it leaves a very distasteful feeling with any person or community who feel that they are being singled out or picked on and this is not what we are about at Pride London. We hold very dearly our commitment to equality. We accept that in some cases training is important and we are happy to work with any of our contractors with the training of their volunteers in this respect, and we will also include any individual or groups that have an interest with this as well, where appropriate. This can involve Trans members being called upon to be a part of a training package.
Pride London has an excellent track record or working with all members of our community, and has in particular a strong record on Trans issues. This incident has marred a very successful event and lessons have to be and must be learnt from it.
Patrick Williams
Chair stakeholders Committee and HR Director
for and on behalf of Pride London