Transgender row disturbs open-water swimmers

The normally calm waters of a small swimming lake in north London are facing turbulence in a dispute over transgender access.

For the past century, the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond has welcomed women swimmers year-round to its secluded spot on the 790-acre Hampstead Heath. The pond has an inclusive approach, and its member association successfully fought off a campaign to ban transgender women last year.

However, a recent Supreme Court judgment in Britain, brought by campaigning group For Women Scotland versus The Scottish Ministers, has muddied the waters.

The court ruled in April that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer only to a biological woman and to biological sex at birth, a ruling which has led to confusion about transgender access, for instance to single-sex toilets.

City of London Corporation, the municipal body which operates the Ladies Pond and the Highgate Men’s Pond, has opened a consultation about access to the ponds. It has given a range of options, from keeping the status quo – in which the Ladies’ Pond is open to all biological and trans women and the Men’s Pond to biological and trans men – to banning transgender swimmers from ponds which do not match their biological sex at birth. Among compromise suggestions are that transgender swimmers use a separate shower and changing room and that certain times are reserved for swimmers based on their biological sex.

“Like many organisations, we are reviewing our access rules to ensure they remain fair, lawful, and respectful”, a City of London spokesperson said, adding that “our priority is to provide a safe and respectful environment for all users”.

Maya Forstater, CEO of campaigning group Sex Matters, said that following the Supreme Court judgment “it’s clear that women-only means what it says: no men allowed, not even men who identify as women”.

However, Steph Richards, chief executive of Translucent, which campaigns for transgender rights, said there had been no issues with the existing policy.

“What harm have trans women done? Most women accept trans people,” she told Yuvoice.

“What we are having now, especially after the Supreme Court judgment, is a massive swing to see trans people excluded from society.”

Venice Allan, a former ponds swimmer who has protested against the inclusive policy, said she would return to the Ladies’ Pond if the policy is scrapped. Allan started swimming in the pond nearly 30 years ago.

“It’s the first women-only space I went to,” Allan told Yuvoice. “We talk about women-only spaces for safety, for privacy, but it’s also a very joyful space for being women-only.”

However, another swimmer, a Ladies’ Pond regular for 25 years, told Yuvoice that “the idea that cis women need protection from trans women is frankly absurd, profoundly prejudiced, bears no relation to actual experience and puts trans women at even more risk than they already face”. The swimmer, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, added that: “I don’t plan on policing anyone’s sex or gender identity when I go swimming and I profoundly hope that trans women can continue to find the pond the peaceful oasis it has always been”.

The consultation is open until November 25.