Scouting Ireland, the governing body for boy and girl scouts in Ireland, has become embroiled in internal controversy over transgender policy on foot of a new safeguarding policy to be introduced later this year which would see biological men treated as women for the purpose of supervising female children.
Last weekend, Scouting Ireland held a training event for “Scouters” – adult volunteers who work with Scouts – at its flagship Larch Hill campsite and facility in the Wicklow Mountains. One of the purposes of the event was to brief Scouters on forthcoming changes to the organisation’s policy in relation to transgender individuals.
Scouters were told that, moving forward, Scouting Ireland would solely recognise individuals according to their “chosen” gender – ie, the sex by which they choose to identify. In practice this would mean that Scouting Ireland would consider an adult biologically male person who “identifies” as female to be the equivalent of an adult woman.
Where the issue arises, attendees told Gript, is where Scouting Ireland requires male and female adults to supervise children or to manage events.
For example, in the existing Scouting Ireland code of behaviour, there is a requirement on page 9 for “gender appropriate supervision” by Scouters of scouting groups. Further, on page 10, that requirement for “gender appropriate supervision” is specifically extended to “circumstances including changing rooms, sleeping areas, etc”.
Further, on page 15 of the existing code of behaviour, it is stated that “mixed gender sections must have mixed gender leadership”.
However, attendees at the Larch Hill event told Gript Media that on foot of the new policy, “mixed gender leadership” will now mean, for example, that two biological males could supervise a mixed gender group of children, so long as one of the males “identifies” as female and is therefore considered a woman by Scouting Ireland.
An attendee at the event told this outlet that “The safeguarding policy is still in the draft stage but the plans for the transgender rule seems to be fixed. No consultation has taken place with Scouters, members or parents. A number of attendees at the training were visibly alarmed, exchanging clearly concerned glances, but it was very clear that any dissent or discussion was not welcome during the training.”
The attendee further confirmed to Gript that “The head of safeguarding, Steven Maclean, confirmed explicitly that Scouters would be counted as their chosen gender and that a transwoman would count as a female leader.”
When Gript Media contacted Mr. Maclean, the head of safeguarding for Scouting Ireland, he issued the following statement:
“Scouting Ireland’s position is committed to proactively seeking equality of outcomes for all young people. It is the foundation on which relevant policies are developed and implemented in the best interests of our members. The Statement is informed by Scouting Ireland’s Constitution (Article 80) and its Strategic Plan 2021-2025 which aims to promote and support diversity and inclusion.”
When asked in a follow-up email whether he was specifically denying any of the claims put to him by Gript Media about his comments at the Larch Hill event or the outline of Scouting Ireland’s new policy, Mr. MacLean did not respond.
The issue of transgender representation has been a major controversy in Ireland for years now, ever since the 2015 introduction of the so-called “gender recognition act”, which explicitly recognises individuals according to their chosen, rather than their biological, sex. However, it is not clear whether Scouting Ireland even requires a gender recognition certificate before choosing to recognise people according to their chosen sex. This is not always the case.
For example, in the ongoing Enoch Burke controversy, in which the teacher claims he has been discriminated against for refusing to use a particular child’s preferred pronouns, it is not disputed that the school had agreed to use pronouns which did not align either with the child’s biological or legal sex. That is to say, no gender recognition certificate was necessary in that case for the school to decide to “recognise” a new gender.
Critics of this kind of gender recognition approach have long pointed out what they say are risks to child safety since the only requirement for somebody to be recognised as a particular gender is for them to say that they are that gender.
For example, an adult male person who is fully biologically intact, and who dresses in traditional male clothing, and bears traditional male characteristics – like a beard – can nevertheless be recognised legally or otherwise as a woman if that is what they say they are. In this case, attendees at the Larch Hill event expressed concern that in essence, a fully biological male could be put in charge of supervising young girls and recognised as a woman, simply by describing themselves as such.
Internationally, there have been moves in the opposite direction in recent weeks, with sporting bodies such as the International Olympic Committee exploring DNA testing for athletes to determine their biological gender, and restrictions on the participation of biologically male persons in female sports. In the United States, the Trump administration has taken steps to make it harder for people to “identify” as a gender other than their biological sex.
In Ireland, no reforms to the Gender Recognition Act have been introduced. Which is presumably why Scouting Ireland is now preparing to recognise male persons as female, based on nothing more than their say-so.
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