A trans councillor has written to the Wiltshire police commissioner over concerns about the impact a statement he released will have on the trans and non-binary community.
Helen Belcher, 57, who was elected by the people of Corsham to serve them on Wiltshire Council at the last election, branded Philip Wilkinson OBE’s comments as ‘inaccurate’.
As reported by Wiltshire 999s, he fiercely attacked transgender women, claiming they are ‘potentially dangerous in women’s spaces’, including toilets and prisons.
In an excerpt from his statement, he wrote: “I believe that we should treat every other human being with respect and courtesy irrespective of their sex, gender or sexual orientation.
“I believe passionately in inclusiveness and diversity and Martin Luther King’s ethos that we should treat every individual by what is within and not the colour of their skin.
“As a proud citizen of the UK, let alone as the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire, I will therefore not support any organisation that promotes a narrow ideology that is exclusive, divisive and potentially dangerous.
“I therefore agree entirely with the sentiments expressed by Lisa Townsend, the new Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey. Like her, I do not believe that the vast majority of women in this country wish to allow biological men into their private enclosed spaces such as women’s prisons and female toilets.
“That is a matter of public security and not inclusiveness.
“I will not therefore support any organisation that promotes such a narrow and exclusive agenda and if necessary, that includes Stonewall.”
Ms Belcher said the commissioner tars all trans people with the same brush and is causing “real exclusion and division”.
“In the last two years I have had to report to Wiltshire Police two criminal incidents directed at me. In the most recent incident, I was repeatedly called a threat to women and girls, with a nasty implication that I supported violent rape or paedophilia. I am pleased that when both of these incidents happened, I was able to report them to Wiltshire Police who were able to log and take some basic action”, she wrote.
Continuing: “In the light of [yesterday’s] comments by the local Police Commissioner, where he appears to tar all trans people with the same brush, what confidence can I now have in our local police if subjected to future criminal activity. The police should be there to protect everyone, irrespective of sex, sexuality or gender identity.
“With his statement, the Commissioner has demonstrated that he doesn’t know the law as it currently stands. Trans women have been legally included in women-only spaces for decades. This has been upheld by recent court decisions.
“The real exclusion and division is being created by individuals, such as the Commissioner, who, by their public statements, seem to want women’s rights reversed to the position in the 1950s, where how you look is more important than how you behave.
“This morning I have written to Philip Wilkinson requesting a meeting with him to discuss the inaccuracies in his statement and the impact that his statement has on trans and non-binary people in Wiltshire.”
