by Jackie Doyle-Price

Britain is a liberal country. Most of us are tolerant of others views and beliefs. Everyone has the right to self-expression. But there are limits.

In exercising our own individual rights to free speech and expression we should not oppress or discriminate against others.

Yet we seem to have got into a right old mess in the way in which we treat trans rights.

Most people would approach this with some degree of common sense. In respecting the rights of trans people to live their lives as they choose, we should not be doing so in any way which is discriminatory towards women.

So enabling men to simply declare themselves to be women and be able to access women-only spaces like changing rooms and medical wards, even women’s prisons is just not right.

Now we have demands that transwomen compete against so called cisgender [people whose gender identity matches the sex that they were assigned at birth] women in sport.

Can anyone spot the risks to women in this scenario?

There is a reason that men and women do not compete against eachother. Its about physiology.

And when a man declares themselves to be a woman they do not lose the physical advantages they have over women.

And yet those of us who defend women only spaces are accused of hate crime. This is nonsense. It is also dangerous.

We have already had Stephen Woods who, as Karen White, was sent to a female prison where he sexually assaulted fellow inmates.

Equally a woman living as a man would face risks in male only environments.

It is surely not beyond the wit of all of us to find a way of respecting the rights of those who change gender without risking the safety or compromising the rights of anyone.