My letter of complaint

Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 3:37 PM UTC
Subject: Formal complaint regarding exclusion of trans girls and young trans women

Dear Girlguiding,

I am writing to lodge a formal complaint regarding your announcement of 2 December 2025 that trans girls and young trans women will no longer be permitted to join or remain members. Your communication asserts that the April Supreme Court judgment requires Girlguiding to define girls and women exclusively by their “biological sex at birth,” and that you therefore had no discretion but to implement this exclusion.

This position raises serious concerns about legality, governance, proportionality, and safeguarding. I set these out below.

1. Misinterpretation of the Supreme Court ruling

The Supreme Court ruling did not impose a requirement on charities to exclude trans girls. The Equality Act 2010 contains permissive single-sex exceptions, not mandatory ones. Organisations may apply them in certain circumstances; they are not compelled to do so.

Your statement presents the ruling as legally determinative in a way that is not supported by the judgment. If Girlguiding acted on an incorrect understanding of the law, this raises immediate questions about trustee competence and whether the decision was made on a proper legal basis.

If you have legal advice stating that you were required to adopt a blanket exclusion, please provide the key reasoning. Without such disclosure, the claim of legal necessity lacks credibility.

2. Failure to consider less discriminatory alternatives

Before excluding an entire class of potential beneficiaries, trustees should explore whether the charity can meet its objects in a less harmful or less restrictive manner. There is no evidence in your communication that any such alternatives were meaningfully considered.

Options you appear not to have explored include:

• Revising governing documents to maintain inclusion
• Creating parallel or umbrella membership structures
• Applying single-sex exceptions proportionately, rather than categorically
• Using established approaches that allow trans girls to participate while respecting single-sex provision where necessary

A blanket ban is the most extreme and discriminatory option available. The Equality Act requires proportionate application of exceptions, and it is difficult to see how a universal exclusion could satisfy that test without a detailed assessment, which has not been provided.

3. Lack of consultation and procedural transparency

Given the significance of the change, Girlguiding’s approach appears inconsistent with basic principles of good governance. Specifically:

• There was no consultation with members, families, or volunteers
• No equality impact assessment has been published or referenced
• No proportionality assessment has been disclosed
• No explanation has been provided of what trustee deliberations took place
• No rationale has been given for rejecting alternatives

A decision of this scale should not be made in a closed process, without transparency, and without any visible engagement with those directly affected.

4. Safeguarding concerns for trans young people

It is well established that trans young people are at increased risk of social isolation, exclusion, and mental health difficulties. Girlguiding has traditionally been a safe and supportive space for many girls who face marginalisation elsewhere.

Your announcement acknowledges that marginalised groups “have felt the biggest impact,” yet offers no specific safeguarding provisions for the girls you are excluding. Directing parents and volunteers to a helpline does not address the welfare implications for trans girls themselves.

If the decision is to stand, Girlguiding must demonstrate that:

• The safeguarding consequences were assessed
• The risks were understood and weighed
• Mitigation was considered
• The welfare of affected girls was not treated as collateral damage

Nothing in your communication suggests that safeguarding formed a serious part of your decision-making.

5. Impact on your charitable purpose and public benefit

Girlguiding’s charitable purpose is to serve “girls and young women.” The exclusion of trans girls restricts this beneficiary class in a way that appears neither necessary nor proportionate.

Trustees must ensure that:

• Public benefit is preserved
• Decisions are lawful and justified
• Groups are not excluded arbitrarily or based on incorrect legal assumptions

Removing a vulnerable subset of girls from the charity’s scope raises obvious public benefit issues.

6. Requested remedy

In light of the concerns outlined above, I request that Girlguiding:

1. Pauses implementation of the exclusion pending a full review.
2. Publishes its legal reasoning, particularly any advice claiming the exclusion is mandatory.
3. Provides a detailed proportionality and equality impact assessment, including safeguarding analysis and alternatives considered.
4. Engages in meaningful consultation with members, families, volunteers, and experts.
5. Explores less discriminatory legal and structural approaches that would uphold both your objects and the inclusion of trans girls.

7. Notice of potential escalation

Given the scale and seriousness of the decision, I am taking advice on appropriate regulatory and legal avenues should the governance concerns I have raised not be addressed transparently.

I would prefer to resolve the matter directly with Girlguiding, but if the decision-making process cannot be properly justified — through clear legal reasoning, documented assessments, and evidence of appropriate trustee deliberation — I may refer the matter to the relevant oversight bodies.

I therefore request a full response in accordance with your complaints procedure.

Yours sincerely,

-------------------------------------------------

The response

Received: 18 December 2025 at 09:45

Thank you for your email, and for taking the time to share your thoughts and questions with us. While we may not have answers to every question right now, please know that we are actively working on guidance to support everyone.

 

Please note that this email is not being handled under our Complaints Policy at this time, as the concerns you raise are about a Girlguiding decision, rather than about individual staff or volunteers. However, this does not mean we are not taking your concerns seriously, and I aim to provide our full response below.

 

Supreme Court ruling and legal interpretations

 Following April’s Supreme Court decision relating to sex and gender, many organisations across the country have been facing complex decisions about what it means for girls and women and for the wider communities affected. Girlguiding’s governing charity documents set out that the membership and people who benefit from our organisation are girls and women. The Supreme Court clarified that the Equality Act 2010 defines girls and women by their biological sex at birth. Following detailed considerations, expert legal advice and input from senior members, young members and our council, the Board of Trustees for Girlguiding has made the difficult decision that Girlguiding must change, following the Supreme Court’s ruling. We understand there are questions about the legal position and how it has been interpreted. Girlguiding’s Board has made its decision based on the current legal framework and advice, and like every charity we have to follow the law. We won’t be commenting on legal challenges or interpretations at this stage.   We will share further guidance as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and for supporting us as we navigate this carefully.

 

Did Girlguiding explore other options before making this decision?

 We explored the option of changing our Royal Charter – but this would take a significant amount of time, possibly years. Any change to a Royal Charter has to go through a long process with the Privy Council – a historic advisory body to the monarch made up of senior politicians, judges and church figures. It’s also important to note that changes to the Royal Charter are a decision reserved for Girlguiding’s Council – not something the Board of Trustees can make. However, even changing the Royal Charter wouldn’t help us stay compliant with the Equality Act, following the judgment by the Supreme Court, the country’s highest court.

 

Girlguiding believes in inclusion, and we will continue to support young people and adults in marginalised groups in the work that we do. All options for this, including the suggestions you raise in your email, will be considered within the new taskforce, which is going to look at how we can support everyone and create new opportunities. We are currently shaping the taskforce to identify the best way we can hear from a range of voices on this important topic. As we set ourselves up, please register your interest here by emailing [ideas@girlguiding.org.uk](mailto:ideas@girlguiding.org.uk).

 

Consultation and decision-making process

 In the weeks prior to our announcement, the direction of the legal advice became increasingly clear: that to do anything other than changing the policy would put Girlguiding at significant risk. The legal situation changed which meant that we had to act more quickly than we wanted to in terms of reaching and announcing a decision.

 

We've been working with girls, our country and region teams, council and external organisations that are affected by the Supreme Court decision. We've also gathered various stakeholder opinions through research including members, similar organisations and external research e.g. ONS and YouGov.

 

We know that this will have a personal and potentially deep impact on some members of the Girlguiding community.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write to us with your questions and concerns.

 

Kind Regards

 

Alison

 
Rebecca Haigh
Enterprise Risk Manager
 
Tel: 020 7834 6242
 

 
Alison Watts
Head of Safeguarding, Safety and Wellbeing
 
Tel: 020 7834 6242
 

 
Zunera Ahmad
Legal Counsel
 
Tel: 020 7834 6242