Statement by TUV Lagan Valley candidate Lorna Smyth:
“If one were to have said a few years ago that the issue of what a woman is would become an election issue I have no doubt that people would have reacted with bemusement. However, in this election both the UUP leader in his Nolan manifesto interview and Alliance in their manifesto published today have left many concerned about their position.
“Alliance commit themselves to:
“Reforming and simplifying laws on gender recognition so that trans people can obtain legal recognition with a simple administrative process based on the principle of statutory declaration, and without intrusive medical diagnosis requirements”.
“In practice this means that Alliance want to make it easier for biological men to access women only spaces such as changing rooms. It also raises profound issues for female sport where biological men have a natural physical advance over women.
“For my part I am clear. A woman is an adult female and her sex is determined at birth. Sex is real, it is important and it is immutable. It is disturbing that some want to live in a society where biological reality is ignored”.