We, the undersigned, believe enacting laws based on the concept of an internal sense of sex ("gender identity"), conflicts with laws based on biological sex. We believe a male should be able to be "feminine" and a female should be able to be "masculine" and not face discrimination. However, biological sex cannot be changed, a male cannot become a female and a female cannot become a male, regardless of their internal feelings, or what social role they feel comfortable assuming. The idea that gender roles are innate is often called "brain sex", and has been disproven by many meta-analysis studies, such as this one published in NeuroImage: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151029185544.htm

 Under current legislation a person does not have to undergo any physical medical intervention to receive a gender recognition certificate. Redefining "sex" (a biological reality) to mean "gender identity" (a self-defined subjective feeling) renders men legally indistinguishable from women and extinguishes the independent legal existence of women. This means that the safety of women and girls is compromised, male violence can be hidden by being attributed to women and discrimination against women and girls is rendered invisible when men are included in areas such as awards, quotas, prizes or any initiative designed to support and advance women and girls in an area where they are disadvantaged or face discrimination.

 For example, we have already seen a male claiming to be the first "woman" soldier on the frontline, and males being sent to women's prisons under the current legislation. Brighton & Hove Police circulated an event poster "Celebrating Women and Girls" which invited "all self-identifying women and girls" to attend. It is greatly concerning that even the police promote this definition of women and girls which permits them no boundaries, and insists they must include males whether they like it or not. We believe females, should have the legal right to exclude males, regardless of how they identify, from female only spaces and groups.

 The published government guidelines for service providers is especially worrying for parents with daughters, as it suggests that any man may now use a women's public toilet or changing-room without being questioned by security personnel. The crimes of voyeurism and indecent exposure cease to exist if a man identifies as a woman, it is the woman/girl who risks being criminalised for a hate crime if she recognises and names the person as male. She is coerced into accepting that a penis may be female. There is no evidence in this document that the privacy, dignity and safety of women and girls have even been considered.

 We also do not believe we should be teaching kids that they need to medically alter their bodies to match their interests. Instead we believe we should be teaching the opposite: that boys can be "feminine" and girls can be "masculine" and they are fine as they are. There has been no public debate on the ethics of the sterilisation and life-long medicalisation of non-conforming children and adolescents. We are very concerned about the futures of our daughters if the female sex is no longer legally recognised as a distinct group with boundaries, as well as the futures of all children being diagnosed by an ideology with no basis in science, medical knowledge or child and adolescent developmental psychology.

 There is also growing evidence that those who have thought of themselves as "trans", later have regrets and "detransition". This survey of 200 women who have detransitioned or reidentified as female, highlights just how harmful basing laws, and medical intervention on ideologies that conflate biological sex and gender (social roles), can be to young women: http://guideonragingstars.tumblr.com/post/149877706175/female-detransition-and-reidentification-survey

 Finally, the DSM V itself states male "adolescents and adults with late-onset gender dysphoria frequently engage in transvestic behaviour with sexual excitement" (APA, 2013, p.456). This cause for a male claiming to be a woman has been denied and minimised by transgender activists, even though it is clearly stated in the DSM. Under current legislation these men can perform "femininity" ("live as a woman"), retain their genitalia, and legally claim to be women. We believe this situation needs to be urgently reviewed.

 For all the reasons stated above, we request a full inquiry into the impact on females and children, of enacting laws founded on an ideology that effectively replaces biological sex as a category with "gender identity". We therefore, request the current laws, which assume this ideology to be legitimate be reviewed, and that women be included in this review.

Unfortunately, we have had to post this petition anonymously, as transgender activists regularly issue threats of violence to women who speak out. They name us "terfs" (trans exclusionary radical feminists), this link documents a small fraction of the abuse women have received for speaking out about these issues: https://terfisaslur.com Transgender activists have also threatened academics, and their families, especially those who have spoken out about the "late