Jennifer Melle, the Christian nurse at the centre of a high profile trans legal case, has met with Bridget Phillipson, the government’s minister for Women and Equalities to raise concerns about the protection of women's spaces.
In her meeting with Phillipson, Melle presented a document produced by the Darlington Nursing Union and the Christian Legal Centre, proposing a set of policies and guidance relating to trans issues in the NHS.
Incredibly, Phillipson told Melle during their meeting that the long-overdue guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on single‑sex spaces will not apply to workplaces including the NHS.
Ms Phillipson said: "There's no delay, it's just the process that we are following. I do want to get that good practice out there into the world. What I would say, however, is the Code of Practice, applies to services and associations. It doesn't apply to the workplace regulations. So that really is a matter for the NHS ... and how they intend to uphold their responsibilities as an employer."
Melle was recently reinstated in her nursing job by St Helier and Epsom University Hospitals NHS Trust following a disciplinary hearing last month.
She had been suspended for nine months for “misgendering” a transgender patient who was a prisoner and convicted paedophile. The patient, who identified as a woman, proceeded to threaten and abuse her, allegedly referring to her as a “n****r”, after she refused to use female pronouns. After going to the press with her story, Melle was also accused of a data breach by her employers.
Speaking after the meeting with Phillipson, Melle said she was thankful to have the opportunity to speak to the government about her case, but said she was "alarmed" to hear that the EHRC guidance will not apply to workplaces.
"The government needs to be transparent and someone in authority has to take decisive action," she said.
“I, and nurses across the country, need urgent action from the government so that no nurse has to go through what I have.
“I really hope Ms Phillipson will listen to me, understand what I have been through, and will take decisive action to protect NHS frontline workers."
Throughout her ordeal Melle received support from the Christian Legal Centre, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, Claire Coutinho MP, and advocates for women’s rights like JK Rowling.
Although vindicated in her disciplinary hearing, Melle will continue with a full employment tribunal hearing scheduled for April. She is claiming harassment, discrimination, victimisation, and breaches of freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
In addition to this, Melle is still subject to two fitness-to-practise investigations by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, which has described her as a “potential risk” due to “misgendering".
Before Wednesday's meeting with Phillipson, Melle delivered a petition to Wes Streeting signed by over 60,000 people, demanding that the government publish the long-awaited EHRC guidance on single-sex spaces. She was accompanied by Sandie Peggie, a nurse in Scotland who is fighting her own legal battle after objecting to sharing a changing room with a transgender colleague.
Melle said, “No more nurses should ever have to endure what the Darlington nurses went through, what Sandie Peggie went through, or what I have gone through. None of us should be punished for speaking the truth, for standing by our professional judgement, or for living according to our deeply held beliefs.
“I remain determined that the lessons of my case, and the cases before mine, must be learned. The NHS must protect its staff, uphold fairness, and ensure that no nurse is ever again placed in an impossible position for simply doing their job with integrity.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: "Unclear and unlawful policies have led directly to cases like those of Jennifer Melle, the Darlington nurses, and Sandie Peggie.
"The system is simply not fit for purpose, and no one in authority seems willing or able to take decisive action. In the meantime, it is ordinary, courageous nurses on the NHS frontline who pay the price. We will be contacting Mr Streeting urgently to seek his response.’”
