Over the past few months, something quiet and deeply unsettling has been unfolding in the UK.
One by one, organisations that once proudly championed inclusion are changing course. Not because of new evidence, not because of any measurable threat, but because of pressure. Because of fear. Because of a campaign that claims to be about protecting women - but is, in reality, about excluding people like me from public life.
Virgin Active. The British Transport Police. Even the UK Parliament building. All have recently introduced trans-exclusive policies, signalling to trans people - especially trans women - that we are no longer welcome.
And this week, it happened to me.
After nearly 25 years of using female changing rooms without incident, I was told by Fitness First that unless I agree to use the male changing facilities, I can no longer use their gym. Never mind that I have a Gender Recognition Certificate. Never mind that I’ve lived as a woman for decades. Never mind that I have been a model member of the gym. My identity is suddenly up for debate - not because of anything I’d done, but because of who I am.
Could I challenge it? Possibly. But legally fighting a private company or the government is expensive and exhausting. That’s part of the strategy. Push people into impossible situations. Make the path to justice so steep that most of us will give up or go away quietly.
This isn’t about safety. It’s about fear. It’s about appeasing a movement that has grown increasingly confident in its mission to erase trans people from public life - one policy, one facility, one act of exclusion at a time.
If you’re cisgender, you probably don’t think twice about where you change, shower, or use the toilet. But imagine being told that you must use the facilities that don’t match how you look, how you live, or who you are. For me, using male changing facilities will out me as trans publicly and expose me to danger, ridicule, or worse. And if I refuse, I lose access to everyday spaces - gyms, pools, community centres, even workplaces.
This is the reality for a growing number of trans people in the UK today, especially those who don't look feminine enough. Yes, this is a campaign primarily targeting trans women and it’s being justified using a narrative that has no grounding in fact.
There is no evidence that trans women pose a threat in women’s spaces. None. But the gender-critical movement doesn’t need evidence - it relies on fear. It frames inclusion as danger, paints trans women as predators, and demands policies that force us either to out ourselves or disappear altogether.
This is not just hostile. It is a calculated campaign of erasure.
It is a strategy designed to pressure organisations into rewriting their policies - not to keep anyone safe, but to make our lives so unbearable that we either go back into the closet or vanish into stealth, secretly living as women and praying that no one discovers our secret. I know trans women who are now considering detransitioning, returning to identifying as male despite the trauma of such action, not because it’s right for them, but because they are no longer safe being visibly trans.
And here’s the cruellest irony: no one chooses this. No one wakes up one day thinking, “You know what, life’s not tough enough, I think I’ll wear a dress.” We transition because we cannot bear the alternative. We transition to live our own authentic lives - not to become a symbol in someone else’s culture war.
So when you hear that this is “just about protecting women,” ask yourself: who’s really being protected? And who’s being harmed? Because every time a new exclusionary policy is passed, the message to trans people is loud and clear: you don’t belong here.
But it won’t stop with us.
If it becomes acceptable to erase trans people - to force us back into the closet or out of public life - who is next?
We’ve seen it before. When a society decides that one group is expendable, it never ends with that group. After trans people, will it be migrants, Muslims, gay and lesbian people, disabled people, neurodivergent people, or pensioners who cost too much to care for?
And when AI starts to seriously erase jobs, whose jobs will go first? If this were really about protecting women and girls, we would all be working together to tackle the real issues - violence against women, toxic misogyny, and male entitlement - that are being ignored.
This anti trans campaign isn’t just about toilets or changing rooms. It’s about what kind of society we are becoming - and whether we’re willing to stand by while fear and hatred decide who gets to live freely and who doesn’t.
I’m writing this not just for trans people, but for the leaders and decision-makers who may be watching this unfold in silence. You may think this doesn’t affect your organisation, that neutrality is the safest path. But neutrality in the face of discrimination is complicity.
If you care about your staff, if you believe in dignity, respect and fairness, now is the time to act.
Speak up. Push back. Don’t let fear dictate your values. Invite trans voices into the room - not to debate their existence, but to tell their stories. If you want to know what real inclusion looks like, hire speakers like me. Let’s talk about how you can create a workplace where everyone - trans or cis - can thrive.
Because this isn’t just about us. It’s about what happens to all of us when we allow fear to win. When trans and non-binary people are safe, when our rights are secure, when we are treated with dignity and respect - the world is safer for everyone.
#RikkiArundel #GenderSpeaker #PrideMonth #TransRights #LGBTQInclusion #DEI #TransEquality #StopMisinformation #DiversityInBusiness #InclusionMatters #TransSpeaker #WorkplaceInclusion #TransAwareness #LeadershipMatters #GenderCriticalExposed
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