British-Nigerian politician, Kemi Badenoch has warned that educating children they can be born in the wrong body is ‘harmful’.
Kemi, who serves as Secretary of State for Business and Trade in the United Kingdom, talked after the Government commenced the long-awaited crackdown on the spread of ‘contested and confused’ gender ideology in schools.
According to her, the worst of the ‘toxic’ debate over transgender rights has been played out in classrooms, with parents cut out as pupils have changed their names and uniforms.
Badenoch wrote in the Daily Mail and pledged that the guidelines published recently would protect young people and provide teachers with the needed clarity.
She also promised to fight for free speech, saying those who aim to ‘force’ terminology on others, forcing them to follow an ideology, show a lack of tolerance.
Badenoch admits the guidance will be opposed by activist groups that are already telling schools to ignore it. She told frustrated Tory colleagues that tougher action could not be taken without time-consuming new laws.
She wrote: “Unlike the opposition Labour Party, this Government does not duck the hard questions or the difficult issues. Teachers and school leaders have been asking for guidance in this space and today they have it.
“And with it we hope our children will be better protected as schools navigate this fast-developing, and contentious, set of issues.”
In her Mail article, she talked about how the idea that children can be born in the wrong body and have an gender identity different from biological sex has ‘swept through our schools’ in recent years.
She wrote: “This is a contested and confused ideology. The truth is it is impossible to define gender identity without reinforcing gender norms and stereotypes associated with either sex. It is not a term that exists in law.
“And yet, this ideology has swept through our schools, causing concern amongst well-meaning parents and teachers alike who want to do right by the children in their care.
“’Teaching children that you can be born in the ‘wrong’ body is harmful. Teachers and carers should be reminded that just because a child does not conform to stereotypes associated with being a girl or a boy, that does not mean they should be put on a path to medical or social transition.”
She said the debate became ‘toxic’ as it was ‘hijacked by special interest groups’ and added: ‘We have seen the worst of this played out in our schools.
“Parents have felt excluded from important decisions being made about their children. Primary school children have been led to believe they are born in the wrong body, simply because they don’t feel that they conform.
“Girls have been told to play competitive sports, silently accepting that boys can say they identify as girls and rob girls of the safe, fair competition they deserve.”
The non-statutory guidance, entitled ‘Gender Questioning Children’, is underpinned by five principles which are:
- Schools must safeguard all children.
- Schools must be respectful.
- Schools should not exclude parents
- Schools must have legal duties related to pupils’ biological sex
- Schools do not have a duty to allow children to socially transition.
Instead, schools must “allow for watchful waiting” when a child requests to change gender and take into account “the seriousness and context of the request”.
