Irish MEPs are among those in the European Parliament to back a non-binding resolution recognising “trans women as women.”
The resolution, which seeks to recognise ‘transgender women’ in the EU’s gender equality priorities, went to a vote on Thursday.
12 out of Ireland’s 14 MEPs supported the move, which calls for biological men to be granted access to women-only spaces. The resolution was approved by 340 votes in favour, 141 against and 68 abstentions.
In total, 549 MEPs voted, meaning that 170 MEPs did not vote.
Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, Sinn Fein, and Independent MEPs voted in favour of the recommendation. Barry Andrews, Lynn Boylan, Nina Carberry, Barry Cowan, Regina Doherty, Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Kathleen Funchion, Billy Kelleher, and Sean Kelly all voted in favour.
Sinn Fein’s two MEPs – Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion – both voted in favour, as did Fianna Fáil’s Barry Andrews, Barry Cowen, Billy Kelleher, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú. Fine Gael MEPs – Maria Walsh, Nina Carberry, Sean Kelly, and Regina Doherty – also gave the green light to the non-binding resolution.
Labour’s Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and Independent Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan were also among the MEPs who voted to back the resolution.
Independent Co Clare MEP Michael McNamara did not vote, nor did Ciaran Mulloolly of Independent Ireland.
The adopted text forms part of the European Union’s negotiating position ahead of the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, set to take place in New York next month.
It resolution seeks to: “Emphasise the importance of the full recognition of trans women as women, noting that their inclusion is essential for the effectiveness of any gender-equality and anti-violence policies; call for recognition of and equal access for trans women to protection and support services.”
The text goes on to reference access to services aimed at protecting women from violence, including domestic violence shelters.
While not legally binding, the resolution will inform the European Union’s position at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March. It indicates how the EU might engage in negotiations and discussions at the international level.
The resolution has sparked outcry from some MEPs, including Cristian Terhes, the president of the Romanian National Conservative Party, who described the report as “insane.”
“First, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other international human rights instruments, when talking about the human person, refer explicitly to the “equal rights of men and women”. There are no other sex-based categories than men and women when we refer to a human person,” said Terhes.
“Redefining “woman” in law in a way contrary to human nature will create legal uncertainty and undermine hard-won protections for actual women.
“Second, policies that remove human sex-based distinctions will (and already do) have consequences for single-sex spaces such as women’s bathrooms, shelters, prisons, and sports. These protections exist because, being different from men or boys, women and girls have unique vulnerabilities and deserve safety, fairness, and dignity,” the MEP said.
“Third, women’s rights were secured legally through decades of struggle. Law and policy should not dilute but reinforce those protections.”
Commenting on the vote, Genspect said it was a “huge step backwards for women’s rights and the protection of vulnerable children and young adults.”
The international advocacy group said that the vote also represented “a dangerous betrayal,” saying that it feared that it would “allow potentially abusive men into vulnerable spaces like domestic violence refuges, exposing survivors to further harm and trauma.”
You can view how MEPs across the bloc voted here.