A BBC presenter has launched a scheme to help transgender people access toilets in schools.
Dr Ronx Ikharia, a “black, queer, transmasculine, non-binary” doctor who has hosted children’s shows for the broadcaster, is behind the new “trans allyship” programme.
Under the scheme, yellow “trans ally” badges which read “Safe With Me” will be handed out in schools.
Anyone wearing the badges will be expected to help “accompany trans+ people to their preferred facilities when asked”.
“This badge is about making allyship visible. It’s non-confrontational. It’s a signal to a trans+ person that they can come up to you and feel safe doing so.”
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Dr Ronx Ikharia (pictured) is behind the scheme
Ikharia has also launched a crowd-funding drive to produce and distribute the badges across the country – which has so far raised north of £10,000.
“As a transmasculine, non-binary person, I’ve faced abuse, exclusion, and humiliation in public toilets,” the doctor said. “I’ve skipped water to avoid them.”
Ikharia, who works at Homerton Hospital in east London, added: “I want this to be everywhere. At schools, in NHS settings, at festivals, in shops. The trans community deserve to feel safe.”
The scheme has been touted as a way to hit back against April’s landmark Supreme Court ruling which confirmed that women are biological females.
TRANS ROWS IN THE BBC – READ MORE:
The scheme has been touted as a way to hit back against April’s landmark Supreme Court ruling
After the ruling, transgender access to single-sex toilets has become a matter of law.
Helen Joyce, the director of advocacy at gender-critical human rights charity Sex Matters, told The Telegraph, labelled the campaign “a safeguarding catastrophe”.
She said: “Asking children to approach adult strangers and take responsibility for their safety in toilet facilities puts children at obvious and serious risk.
“As for adults wearing ‘safe with me’ badges that children are supposed to believe, it’s hard to think of a more irresponsible idea.
‘Any organisation involved in distributing these badges is either extremely naive or is willing to undermine safeguarding,’ Helen Joyce said
“‘Safe’ isn’t something a person can identify as, and adult strangers who signal to children that they are ‘safe’ are a safeguarding red flag.
“Any organisation involved in distributing these badges is either extremely naive or is willing to undermine safeguarding.
“Dr Ronx is a well-known children’s entertainer, and her responsibility for the campaign raises serious questions.
“We will be raising this campaign as a safeguarding issue with Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary.”