On Sunday the 12th of April protests were held outside Girlguiding offices in London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Bath, Norwich, and Birmingham.

Organised by the campaign group Guiders Against Trans Exclusion (GATE). According to the group's website, “they aim to make it clear to Girlguiding in the strongest possible terms that its membership does not support the policy, and urge them to reverse their decision.”

What The Trans (WTT) attended the Edinburgh protest to find out more. Beforehand I spoke to a Girlguiding unit leader called EL (She/Her) to get her thoughts and views on the situation.

“Compassion not Fear”

El has felt a great amount of hurt and disbelief at the decision. She is shocked that the institution she thought was an inclusive safe space for all girls, is not allowing girls who are trans to stay. ‘No girl should read a headline saying they’re no longer welcome’ , EL commented with a great sadness in her voice.

She mentioned how the decision came as a total shock and surprise to her unit. ‘We never saw it coming, it was never discussed with us beforehand’.

El spoke of how Girlguiding has broken ‘The Promise’ – an oath taken by all members to follow Guide Law and be helpful to others. She said GATE are “holding Girlguiding to account for breaking The Promise”

El hopes that the demonstrations will tell everyone that ‘We [GATE] are still fighting and our community stands together in support of trans girls.’

El believes that Girlguiding should be led by compassion and not fear.

She expressed her worry at the loss of good leaders. ‘we are losing leaders who have been in the role for more than 20 years.’ El fears this will have a detrimental effect on the ability of Girlguiding to provide a safe space for girls, as their experience and expertise could be forever lost. Holding back tears, El remarked that ‘with so many good people leaving, it really makes me feel sad.’

Talking about trans people, El commented that we have ‘always existed’ and ‘fearmongering is associating blame onto them, where no blame is found.’

Prioritising Safety

I reached out (before the protests) to Girl Guides for comment on the upcoming protests. I received a quick response from a spokesperson which read.

“We are aware some members are attending peaceful protests. While these protests are not organised by Girlguiding itself, we share a commitment with organisers to maintaining safety for members who may attend. We expect everyone who peacefully protests to uphold our Girlguiding values and the code of conduct. Safety is our priority for all members.”

Edinburgh Demo

The Edinburgh sun shone brightly on the GATE led protests, with many cis allies speaking up for the rights of trans kids. The demo began with upbeat chants of ‘trans rights’ and “one struggle one fight, trans rights are women’s rights’. A lovely warm atmosphere of hope and unity in the face of ongoing attacks against the rights of trans people.

The crowd sang out heart-warming songs of trans inclusion. El spoke to the crowd through a megaphone, telling them that ‘guiding was always a safe space’ and she’s ‘heartbroken by the news’.

Another girl guide leader spoke of her despair, when learning of the trans exclusion. She called the ‘decision deeply painful and destabilising. I feel it is important for trans people to stay. Inclusion to triumph over exclusion.’

Another guide said ‘ We know trans girls are girls guides too’.

A Community Unites For Trans Rights

Former Scottish Green Party (SGP) co-leader Lorna Slater spoke at the demo. She is ‘horrified at parliamentarians regularly drumming up hatred against trans people. Trans people are our friends, colleagues and valued members of our communities’.

Leslie (he/him) of the trans rights organisation Resisting Transphobia in Edinburgh (RTiE) believes fully in the need for inclusion. They said, ‘things should be getting better. All young lassies should be allowed to join girl guides if they want to’.

The overall feeling at the demo was one of resilience and not giving into the fear and bigotry. A girl guide volunteer summed up the message of the day with, ‘no playground should be a battleground for identity’.