UK – London, England. Minister for Women and Equalities Liz Truss signalled a significant change of direction for UK policy on sex and gender in parliament yesterday.

Truss, who is also international trade secretary, told the Women and Equalities Select Committee that when the government’s much-delayed proposals for reform of the Gender Recognition Act are published this summer “protection of single-sex spaces” will be “extremely important”.

Campaigners for women’s rights have welcomed the change of direction. The signatories of women’s declarations of most English political parties have written to Truss stating that, while single-sex spaces are already protected under the law for reasons of privacy, dignity and opportunity, the law was not being implemented because many organisations were confusing sex with gender identity. This jeopardises the safety and autonomy of women and girls in situations such as hospital wards, refuges, prisons and changing rooms, campaigners argue.

Truss also signalled that moves would be taken to protect children from embarking on irreversible sex-change procedures before they are old enough to make such life-changing decisions.

She said: “I believe strongly that adults should have the freedom to lead their lives as they see fit, but I think it’s very important that while people are still developing their decision-making capabilities that we protect them from making those irreversible decisions.“

NHS England has begun a review of the use of puberty suppressants and cross-sex hormones. Currently, children referred to the gender identity development service can be treated with hormone blockers to suppress puberty and later with irreversible cross-sex hormones. With their parents’ consent, they can go on to have surgeries such as mastectomies and phalloplasties.

Almost three-quarters of children seeking transition are girls and more than half are aged under 14, according to figures from the Tavistock and Portman gender identity clinic in London. Around 90% of children who start on puberty blockers go on to take irreversible cross-sex hormones.

Current guidelines face a legal challenge from Keira Bell, 23, a woman who underwent gender reassignment treatment in her mid-teens, but changed her mind and sought to reverse the process. She is suing the Tavistock and Portman NHS trust in north London.

Consultation on reform of the Gender Recognition Act, which provides a pathway for people to change their sex marker on legal documents such as birth certificates and driving licences, ended in October 2018. It received more than 100,000 submissions and sparked huge conflict over wider public policies and practices affecting transgender people, women and girls.

The minister spelled out three principles that would guide government policy on reform of laws on sex and gender:

First of all, the protection of single-sex spaces, which is extremely important. SECONDLY making sure that transgender adults are free to live their lives as they wish without fear of persecution, whilst maintaining the proper checks and balances in the system. FINALLY which is not a direct issue concerning the Gender Recognition Act, but is relevant, making sure that the under 18s are protected from decisions that they could make, that are irreversible in the future.