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Gwent Police has scrapped a policy allowing transgender women to use female toilets and showers following a legal threat from a campaign group.
In April last year, the UK Supreme Court ruled the definition of sex in the Equality Act 2010 should be interpreted as a person’s biological sex recorded at birth.
The Women’s Rights Network (WRN) contacted every police force in the UK requesting details of their transgender policies and workplace facilities following the ruling.
The group said the responses were “troubling across the board”, but singled out Gwent Police as among the ‘most concerning’.
The force’s Trans Inclusion Policy, dated June 2025, stated transgender staff could use facilities corresponding with their identified gender from the first day they presented in that gender.
WRN was in correspondence with the force on the matter, and in June called on it to change its policy, or face a potential legal challenge.
However, the force has since confirmed the policy was actually scrapped on 19 May this year.
A Gwent Police spokesperson said: “We are committed to an inclusive workplace where everyone feels safe, respected and able to be themselves.
“We understand the impact that this has on our workforce and communities and as such we are being proactive in ensuring our estates and working environments are inclusive and safe for all to use.
“Our Trans Inclusion Policy has been reviewed in light of recent Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance on public spaces, and we await further guidance on workplaces.”
The force added that a revised draft is undergoing consultation with internal staff networks before being formally published.
Responding to the revelation that the policy had been scrapped, Ceri Rosser, deputy lead for WRN Wales, criticised the force’s timeline and ongoing consultation process.
Ms Rosser said: “Gwent Police serves this community, so it should have been Gwent women – officers, staff, and members of the public who were front of mind when this policy on access to female-only facilities was drawn up in the first place.
“Instead, it took the threat of legal action from a grassroots network of women to jolt the police into complying with laws they were already bound by.”
Ms Rosser added that the group would monitor the force’s next steps to ensure the replacement policy strictly adheres to legal requirements regarding single-sex exemptions.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show Gwent Police is now moving towards gender-neutral facilities across its workplaces.
Toilets and changing rooms at its headquarters in Cwmbran are already gender-neutral.
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