Stonewall’s diversity plan has attracted hundreds of nurses to call their regulators.
This controversy has engulfed the LGBT charity. It believes that single-sex health care settings should not be restricted to people based on their gender.
Stonewall Diversity Scheme has been criticized by a number of prominent organizations, such as the BBC and Department of Health.
Nursing and Midwifery Council are under increasing pressure to become part of the ever-growing number of other bodies that have left the charity.
Nearly 460 members signed a letter informing Stonewall about their concern and warning them not to voice out.
However the charity has hit back, stating the letter is ‘littered with inaccuracies and misinformation’, and that lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people are harmed by ‘attacks’ like these.
The nurses worry about the loss of women’s rights such as their right to safety in hospitals or mental health settings, and the right not to be called “mothers”, but a neutral gender term.
One wrote: ‘I support the needs of trans people – but not to the eradication of women and women’s rights.’
The LGBT charity’s demand that single-sex patients have access to metal health institutions or wards based on gender identity is a concern. It undermines the health professional’s ability to care for female patients.
Stonewall diversity program: Campaigners urge organisations to pull out of it in October.
The letter was signed by a nurse who claimed that her employer forced women to be told by staff that there weren’t any male patients on the wards.
‘Nurses in my mental health trust are required to affirm gender identity – consequently male bodied patients on female psychiatric wards, staff/patients unable to have frank conversation about risk, women being told no men on the ward is a further psychological harm to (often) traumatised women,’ they said.
One other wrote, “I am not able to defend my female patients and advocate for them with no fear of reprisal.”
One also said that Stonewall’s wish to get rid of terms such as “woman” was offensive.
The use of incorrect terminology and removal of sex-based words such as breastfeed, mother, or woman is offensive for women and confuses those not fluent in English. If nurses are not permitted to discuss these critical issues, they will be subject to reputational damage.
The letter was organized by Woman’s Place UK and reads, “The history of Stonewall’s efforts to protect the rights of LGBT people is something to be proud of.”
“Nursing affiliations are to be made based on facts and evidence, and must not be driven by ideology.
‘We believe that as a profession, there is specific risk to the reputation of nurses and our ability to work within our Code from the NMC’s affiliation with Stonewall.’
Signatories are asked to verify that they have been or previously were registered as a nurse, midwife, or health visitor with the NMC.
The group’s co-founder Kiri Tunks told MailOnline the comments currently provided on the online petition showed the depth of concern nurses and midwives had regarding Stonewall.
“Woman’s Place UK was really happy to host this letter, which we hope will amplify the voices of healthcare professionals,” she stated.
“They feel that their voices are restricted and they are now in an extremely difficult position. The comments show that current registrants are nervous about being targeted and identified in order to raise concerns.
‘As a women’s rights campaign, we are concerned that women’s rights in healthcare are upheld so we are really glad that nurses and midwives are speaking up.’
The letter also addresses other concerns, such as Stonewall support for gender reassignment therapy, behavior towards charity opponents, and rephrasing language to eliminate terms like “mother” or “woman”.
It also asks for four UK chief nurses to publicly endorse the removal of NHS Trusts, bodies and Trusts from Stonewall.
The NMC’s chief executive Andrea Sutcliffe said the regulator was aware of the letter and would respond in due course.
‘We’re aware of Woman’s Place UK’s letter, although it hasn’t been sent to us directly yet,’ she said.
‘We will, of course, respond once we’ve received the letter and had time to consider it.’
In recent months, concerns about Stonewall’s affiliations have increased, leading to many public and private organizations to withdraw from Stonewall’s diversity program.
Responding to the letter, a Stonewall spokesperson said: ‘This petition is littered with inaccuracies and misinformation.
“It is shameful that these organizations continue to misrepresent the Diversity Champions programme which provides support for organisations to create inclusive workplace environments.
‘Ultimately, it is lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer people who are harmed by these kinds of baseless attacks.’
Stonewall’s recent controversy surrounding issues of gender identity and sexuality has caused a lot of confusion.
There have been growing concerns about the influence of Stonewall, which is paid millions of pounds for advising public bodies – including Government departments, police forces and universities – plus a range of private companies on LGBT issues.
Stonewall began as a campaign group to support gay rights. The organization has been widely praised for its crucial work.
However there have been concerns about the charity controversially promoting a policy of self-declared ‘gender identity’ – a doctrine that people are whatever gender they say they are – ahead of biological sex.
The belief is supported by it, such as the idea that gay men can have penises, and lesbians can have vaginas. Stonewall said that people who do not agree are bigots.
The charity’s chief executive Nancy Kelley also claimed ‘gender critical’ beliefs – the belief that a person’s biological sex cannot be changed – were like anti-Semitism.
There was concern over last month’s problems the BBC following several other high-profile bodies, including Whitehall departments, in dropping its membership of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme.
The Royal College Of Midwives also issued an apology last week and amended its guidelines regarding safe-sleeping for babies. These were directed at ‘post-natal persons’ without any mention of mothers or women.
The move came after the body was criticised by a childbirth campaigner who was ‘cancelled’ online for questioning the use of the term ‘birthing people’.
Milli Hill from Somerset faced an angry backlash after she challenged the usage of the term when speaking about obstetrical violence, which is medical interventions that are performed in childbirth without consent.
Author now convinced RCM midwifery organization to amend its most recent safe sleeping guideline, which did not refer to women, but rather used the term “postnatal people”, presumably in order to accommodate the fact that transgender man can have children.
The pregnancy campaigner pointed to research showing that women who are breastfeeding have a heightened responsiveness due to their hormonal feedback cycle.
This means there could be safety differences if a baby was co-sleeping with a breastfeeding mother compared to a non-breastfeeding mother or father.
What made the NHS allow me to have sex with another woman? Keira Bell shares her story to ‘advise others’
Miss Bell, an IT engineer is seen outside Royal Courts of Justice London in January
Keira spoke out to the Daily Mail about what had happened earlier in the year to bring attention to her situation and to warn others.
Keira, her mother was a single parent and she raised her in Hertfordshire with her two older sisters. Her parents divorced. Keira’s father served in the U.S. Military in Britain, and later settled in this area.
She said that she was always a boy. She didn’t like skirts and recalls two instances when her family made her wear a dress.
She told the Daily Mail: ‘At 14, I was pitched a question by my mother, about me being such a tomboy. She wanted to know if I was lesbian. I replied no. When she asked me whether I would like to become a boy, I also said no.
Keira thought that Keira might have been transsexual at the time, which is why she’s now known as transgender.
I was told by her that she found the idea disgusting. She says, “Wanting sex change was never glorified like it is now.” The idea was not well-known. But the idea remained in my head and didn’t disappear.
Keira began to play truant in school and was on her way to receiving the invasive treatment that she now blames. An odd one out, she insisted on wearing trousers — most female pupils there chose skirts — and rarely had friends of either sex.
After she refused to show up to class due to bullying, she was sent to therapy.
He was astonished to hear her tell him about her dreams of becoming a boy.
Soon, her local doctor referred her to her. She then sent her directly to the child mental health services (CAMHS), near her house. She was referred to the Tavistock because she believes she was not born in the right body.
Keira was now in puberty, and she had started her period. “The Tavistock provided hormone blockers that stopped my female development. “It was like turning off an electric tap,” she said.
I experienced similar symptoms to what happens when hormones fall in women during menopause. It was difficult for me to get sleep and I felt hot flushes. Because my bones were weak, I received calcium tablets.
Keira says she wasn’t warned by Tavistock therapists about the terrible symptoms that lay ahead.
She didn’t instantly lose her breasts after binding them with cloth from a transgender website. She said, “I was nowhere,”
After nearly one year of blockers, she returned to Tavistock where she had tests done to confirm that she was ready for her next treatment.
A few short months later, the first wispy hairs began to grow on her neck. Finally, something started to happen. Keira was delighted.
The Gender Identity Clinic, West London, referred her to them. This clinic treats people who want to have sex changes.
Following two expert opinions, the patient was sent to Brighton hospital, East Sussex, where she had a double breastectomy.
She had grown a full-grown beard and was now able to sex again. Her voice was clear.
Her breasts had been removed and she started to doubt her abilities as a father.
But she kept going, despite doubts. As she loved the name Quincy, her birth certificate and driving license changed to reflect her new name. She also altered her name by deed poll, and got a government-authorised Gender Recognition Certificate making her officially male.
She received her last testosterone injection in January, just after her 22nd Birthday.
The clock cannot be rewinded after all the years spent having hormones in your body. Her periods started to return and her hips began to look more feminine. But her beard is still growing.
She stated that she doesn’t know whether or not I will look again like a woman. “I felt like a Tavistock guinea-pig, and nobody knows what my future holds.”
It is also uncertain whether or not she can have children.
However, she has been buying more women’s clothing and using the female toilets once again. She says that it worries her because women might think she is a man. I get nervous. It’s a problem because my hair is too short. But, I am trying to grow it.
She is legally male and must change her official documentation to prove it.