Backlash as Fire Brigades Union votes in favour of gender self-identification

The Fire Brigade Union has recommended that male firefighters be allowed to identify as female, prompting a backlash from some female members.

The all-male national executive voted on Thursday night in favour of allowing gender self declaration by eight votes to three, the Telegraph understands. The vote will now  go out to each region to consult on.

Female members say they were not consulted and warned it will have huge implications for women, who make up just seven per cent of the force, regarding changing facilities and single sex dormitories.

They claimed the chair of the national women’s committee had proffered her support ahead of the vote without consulting the FBU’s 2,000 female members.

And they expressed fears that women-only facilities, for which they had “fought tooth and nail” could be abused or used as a means of bullying or intimidating women.

Lucy Masoud,  a London regional official and London’s LGBT secretary, said: “We absolutely understand that the Gender Recognition Act is in need of reform and transgender individuals should have rights and be protected and understood.

“But these rights should not be in expense of women’s rights. We need an open and frank discussion but in doing so, we need to consult women.”

Prominent female union members from across the country have sent a letter to the executive committee expressing major concerns about the proposals, which they warned "may compromise the privacy and security of women in the workplace, and risk unpicking advances that were fought for over many years."

They include Sian Griffiths, one of the first women to join the force, and who founded the FBU Women’s Committee.

Yannick Dubois, chair of the FBU’s LGBT group, claimed there had been a lot of “scaremongering” about the GRA based on misunderstanding.

She said: “Self declaration means going through a long and complex process. People don’t go through it just so they can use the women’s toilets.”