NHS trust uses offensive ‘terf’ slang in official guidance despite supreme court ruling

An NHS trust has been criticised for its use of the offensive term ‘terf’ in a guide on how to support transgender staff.

A document produced by the North East London Foundation Trust (NELFT) used the term, which stands for ‘transgender-exclusionary radical feminist’, to describe women who do not want to share single-sex facilities with trans women.

The document claims that excluding trans women from women-only spaces in the hospital is unlawful.

It comes after the Supreme Court ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex under equality laws.

The use of the term was flagged to NHS bosses by The Telegraph, who then warned the trust not to use ‘derogatory or dismissive language’.

The NELFT is now reviewing its own guidance surrounding single-sex facilities.

The Government’s equality watchdog, issued their guidance to charities and public sector organisations following the Supreme Court‘s ruling that trans women – men who identify as female – are not women under the law.

Following the court’s decision, there was a debate among charities for women about how to interpret the finding.

Many, including Refuge, the UK’s largest domestic abuse organisation, and the Girl Guides said they would not let the ruling change the way they treated trans people and looked to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for support.

Transgender women should not be allowed to use female toilets, according to the Government’s equality watchdog. Pictured: File photo 

An inclusive changing space sign at an NHS facility, allowing trans women to use the women’s room

But the EHRC’s guidance reiterated the Supreme Court ruling, saying: ‘Trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities.’

The Trust provides services to parts of north and east London as well as Essex and Kent and specialises in community and mental health.

In its staff policy, the trust says it supports colleagues who identify as transgender, as well as non-binary and other gender identities.

The document also references ‘trans-exclusionary radical feminists’, warning that this group may feel that the inclusion of trans colleagues is an ‘infringement on their beliefs and values.

The term ‘terf’ has appeared on placards at rallies in London since the supreme court ruling.

While most held up signs fighting for trans rights, some activists were seen threatening violence with disturbing images of stabbed and hanged TERFs.

One sign at the protest in London’s Parliament Square showed an illustration of hangman alongside the slogan ‘The only good TERF is a [hanged] TERF.’

Another read: ‘Trans women are women. Trans men are men. If you don’t like that, go s*** somewhere else.’ Examples on the sign of where to do that included ‘on a pile of Harry Potter books’ or ‘on the head of another TERF’. 

A third graphic sign read: ‘Trans women are women. Trans men are men. If you don’t like that, go s*** somewhere else.’ Examples of where to do that on the sign included ‘on a pile of Harry Potter books’ or ‘on the head of another TERF’

One sign at the protest in London’s Parliament Square showed an illustration of hangman alongside the slogan ‘The only good TERF is a [hanged] TERF’ 

A women’s rights campaigner said the slur was used to incite violence against women.

They told the Telegraph: ”Given that the term terf has been used to dehumanise and silence women it is particularly egregious that this slur is used in the Equality Impact Assessment which is supposed to be the fair and balanced legal section required under the Public Services Duty in the Equality Act’.

The guidance for staff at the NELFT was written by DEI managers alongside LGBTQ staff network leaders. It was also signed off by two of the trust’s executives.

The document came after Maya Forstater, co-founder of charity Sex Matters, won an employment tribunal which declared gender critical beliefs were protected in a democracy.

Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at the charity, said the NELFT’s attitude towards women ‘reflects the abysmal response from many NHS trusts to the Supreme Court judgement’.

‘Terf is a term used by trans activists to demonise women who are working to restore and protect hard-fought rights to single-sex services and spaces,’ she said.

‘By the time this guidance was published, Forstater v CGD had already established that gender-critical views are legally protected, further illustrating the long-standing contempt for the law within the NHS.’

The Trust, like others in London, currently allows trans women to share wards and lavatories with other women. It has also received a gold award for its commitment to LGBTQ policies by the controversial charity Stonewall.

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued itsguidance to charities and public sector organisations following the Supreme Court’s ruling that trans women – men who identify as female – are not women under the law. Pictured: Protesters gathered in support of transgender rights following the ruling 

Some members of the leading doctors’ union, the British Medical Association (BMA) condemned the Supreme Court ruling.

Biology in medicine, a group of doctors campaigning for patients to be treated according to biological sex said it was ‘destroying trust in medicine’, accusing the BMA of ‘medical misogyny’.

An NHS spokesperson said: ‘Organisations across the NHS are reviewing their policies and guidance to bring them in line with the Supreme Court judgment, and this will take some time. Guidance for staff should clearly not include derogatory or dismissive language, and trusts must take this into account as part of their reviews.’

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this Government, and we expect Trusts to follow the clarity that the Supreme Court ruling provides.’

A spokesman for NELFT said: ‘We are reviewing the content of the guidance in light of the recent ruling, as well as the language used to ensure it is respectful and promotes inclusivity, and we will reissue once complete.’