Following a vote at a meeting of North West Wales Green Party, the party would like to publish the below statement in unequivocal support of trans rights.
Motion: That North West Wales Green Party adopts and publicises the following statement, and undertakes the actions described within it.
Social justice is of paramount importance to North West Wales Green Party (“NWWGP”/”we”). We, therefore, reject bigotry in all its forms, including prejudice on the basis of sex, gender identity or any other intrinsic characteristic. We defend the right of all people to freely define their gender in accordance with their lived experience and to have this respected by others.
This accords with Policy RR530 of the Green Party of England and Wales (“GPEW”/”the Party”), which states:
“The Green Party recognises that trans men are men, trans women are women, and that non-binary identities exist and are valid. We shall respect transgender and non-binary
people’s identities as real. The Green Party shall include, and push for further acceptance of, transgender and non-binary people within all areas of society.”
Contrary to this policy, it is clear that some members of GPEW do not want to push for the further acceptance of transgender and non-binary people; indeed, the spring conference of March 2022 exposed that some Party members would prefer transgender and non-binary people to undergo conversion therapy. This transphobic hatred is championed by high-profile members and goes unchallenged by others. Members of NWWGP consider these attitudes to be damaging to the Party and its members’ wellbeing. We, therefore, commit to tackling them, recognising that this comes too late for the many members of the LGBTIQA+ community who have already left the Party due to its inaction.
NWWGP further recognises that tackling transphobia within GPEW will entail the expulsion of members who espouse transphobic prejudice. To ensure that these expulsions can be carried out promptly and effectively, we call on the Green Party Regional Council to pass clear internal guidance on queerphobia, and we call for the Party’s Code of Conduct and complaints procedures to be reformed as a matter of urgency.
In calling for GPEW to become a space free of bigotry, NWWGP hopes that the Party can become a welcoming place for members regardless of their sex, gender identity or any other intrinsic characteristic. In accordance with this ambition, NWWGP hereby commits to providing its members with LGBTIQA+ inclusivity training.
NWWGP reaffirms its belief that the liberation of transgender and non-binary people-their freedom to define their gender in accordance with their lived experience-does not pose a threat to others. Specifically, we do not consider it reasonable or just for trans women to be punished for crimes committed by cisgender men. We instead acknowledge that trans women are more likely to be victims of violence than its perpetrators. We consider that directing energy away from tackling male violence, and instead towards fighting trans women, undermines the feminist movement.
Accordingly, NWWGP also commits energy to campaigning against: sexual harassment; domestic violence; female genital mutilation; trafficking; the gender pay gap; institutional misogyny; period poverty; and cuts to public services, which disproportionately impact women.
Finally, NWWGP affirms the right of trans and non-binary people, as with other marginalised groups, to choose the language with which they identify oppressors. We require that all members of NWWGP accept the gender determined by each individual. We regard refusal to do so as transphobia, and affirm that transphobes should not be welcome in the Green Party of England and Wales.