An award-winning female novelist has blasted the appointment of a trans woman to an endometriosis charity.
Human rights activist Steph Richards, 73, has been handed the role of parliamentary engagement officer for Endometriosis South Coast, it is reported.
Ms Richards, a trans woman who was born male, previously stepped down as the charity’s CEO in 2024 following backlash from women’s rights campaigners.
In her new position she will represent the charity to members of parliament (MPs), while continuing to act as chief executive for trans campaign group TransLucent, which she founded.
Amanda Craig, author of novels such as The Lie of the Land and The Golden Rule, compared it to a white person speaking on behalf of black people.
Ms Craig, who has previously suffered from acute endometriosis, told The Times the appointment was ‘absolutely ridiculous’.
She added: ‘It’s as ridiculous as someone purporting to speak for black people when they’re white.
‘It’s fundamentally discordant and wrong. Even if it comes from a good place and wanting to help women.’
Novelist Amanda Craig, author of novels such as The Lie of the Land and The Golden Rule, called the appointment of a trans woman to an endometriosis charity ‘absolutely ridiculous’
Steph Richards, a trans woman, previously stepped down as the charity’s CEO in 2024 following backlash from women’s rights campaigners
In her new position she will represent the charity to members of parliament (MPs), while continuing to act as chief executive for trans campaign group TransLucent, which she founded
However, quizzed about the appointment, Endometriosis South Coast said it was ‘scientifically inaccurate’ to claim only women experienced endometriosis – and that it also affected trans, non-binary and intersex people.
Rosie Duffield, Independent MP for Canterbury and a prominent proponent of ‘gender-critical’ ideology, called Ms Richards’ appointment ‘inappropriate’.
She said she was ‘uncomfortable’ with the charity being represented in parliament by someone with ‘no possible lived experience’ of endometriosis.
Endometriosis happens when cells similar to those in the lining of the uterus grow in other parts of the body, causing chronic pain, heavy bleeding and, in many cases, infertility.
Symptoms vary from person to person and can include pelvic pain, periods that interfere with daily life, heavy menstrual bleeding, pain during sex and painful bowel movements.
Yet despite the severity of symptoms, many women struggle for years to be taken seriously.
The latest survey by Endometriosis UK found that 39 per cent of respondents reported needing to visit their GP 10 times or more before the condition was suspected.
For 28-year-old Bethany Backhouse, from Stoke-on-Trent, her symptoms were dismissed for six years before she was diagnosed in 2017.
She said: ‘For a long time, I was told I was too young to have endometriosis, I was told that my symptoms were just painful periods, despite passing out at school due to the pain.
‘It took about six years for me to get a diagnosis and it has had a huge impact on my education, my mental health and my life.’
This narrative is echoed by Louise Spice, 29, whose periods were ‘painful from day one’, and she was repeatedly told by her GP that it was just ‘heavy periods’.
‘My entire teenage memories are of pain, lying in bed and clutching a hot water bottle’, she previously told the Daily Mail.
Ms Richards previously described criticism of her leadership of Endometriosis South Coast as ‘transphobic’.
The charity said that Ms Richards was ‘a volunteer in a parliamentary engagement capacity’ and was appointed on the basis of her talents.
They added: ‘The ability to advocate meaningfully for a condition does not require personally having that condition; this standard is applied consistently across healthcare, policy, and the voluntary sector, and we apply it here, too.’
