Seeing SO MUCH MISINFORMATION about this new Transgender Inquiry.

Weirdly, and hilariously, in 2015 I was a video editor who ended up reporting on the first trans equality inquiry. I don't know everything, but I know roughly what this actually is. (RETWEET WIDELY) (Thread)

THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC CONSULTATION.

Let me say it again.

THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC CONSULTATION.

This is not the same as the 2017 cluster fuck of nonsense. It has potential to be super weird, but this is not that.

First myth that needs debunking. Liz Truss is not in charge of this inquiry. She is the minister for women and equalities.

This inquiry is being done by the Women & equalities Parliamentary Sub-Committee. This is a cross party committee of MP's.

The committee is chaired by Caroline Nokes, a conservative MP but...a probable trans ally.

Will show why we believe this further down the thread.

I know that at least four of the members are trans allies.

A parliamentary inquiry like this is very different from a consultation. For a start, this has more in common with a court case. The committee seeking evidence to be submitted. This evidence will be taken into account and will inform the committee of issues...

...that need to be discussed during the evidence sessions that will come later.

You can expect evidence to come from Terfs, bigots, extremist religious nightmares...

...and Stonewall, and the LGBT Foundation, and the LGBT Consortium, and GenderGP, Mermaids, even us.

There will also be submissions from trans people. Anyone can submit evidence. No guarentee it will be included if it is deemed not relevant, expect to see plenty of guides on how to fill this in so it will be included (possibly from us as well.)

Then there will be evidence sessions in parliament. This is where the committee can question various people. This is like a court in that it is illegal to lie to to a parliamentary committee. To put it in TV legal drama terms, the committee are lawyers questioning witnesses.

You can expect terfs to be called to these evidence sessions. You can expect every variety of transphobe to be called. You can also expect representatives from every major LGBT organisation in the UK. These sessions will be public and viewable on http://parliament.tv .

These sessions can take a little as a week, maybe a month. But this will be A LOT shorter than the consultation 3 years ago.

Also at this evidence stage, this will almost certainly result in a flood of transphobic media from you know who.

However, there will also be a flood of pro trans coverage from the few who aren't garbage.

Those who are burned out, traumatised or just plain fucked off, should probably keep away from the media during this time.

Once the evidence sessions end, there will be a wait. Could be 6 months. Could be a year. But the evidence submissions will be closed. There won't be anything to report on because the committee will be in a room somewhere working on their recommendations.

Eventually all the submitted evidence will be released publicly. This is for transparency. There is a rumour going around that this is a ploy by Liz Truss to get trans folks to release private information permanently.

NO. LIZ TRUSS IS NOT RUNNING THIS.

And...

...in previous inquiries, anonymity is respected. I will double check that this is the case with this inquiry but see no reason why the Women & Equalities sub comittee (lead by Caroline Nokes, possible ally, not Liz Truss, actual transphobe) would change this now.

Finally, after many months, the report full of recommendations will be published. At this stage, the government are supposed to look at the recommendations, act on them, debate plans, do legislation.

In Pig Bastard Johnson land? Who knows. He will probably be gone by then anyway

So, DO NOT PANIC.

This is not the same as the consultation.

I know because I have been to one. I cannot predict the future, this could be a disaster but think...

...how much do you want to see Liz Truss get taken apart by a panel of "lawyers" in court like conditions?

MPs aren't lawyers (well, they probably were lawyers once, but they aren't lawyers now) but this is closer to a court case than it is a public poll, consultation, all that shit that happened 3 years ago.

Please share widely. A lot of people are freaking out. They don't have to.

Also, one day, I will tell the story about how a video editor with no real experience of reporting found herself reporting on this for a real news place. That is wild. But here is evidence I know some stuff about this. Me shaking hands with Nicky Morgan.

Here is one of the evidence sessions in 2015 that you can watch. Skim through, this shows you what an inquiry actually looks like.

https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/15db70eb-8e9a-4a29-82ee-78a13d802802

I will be doing some reading up and shoring up my knowledge on this. This thread has not been fact checked. This is rushed out mostly from memories of 5 years ago. Please reply with corrections if something is wrong and will update. Will continue putting out information on this.

@threadreaderapp unroll

If you have any questions about this, I will be on the DMs till 3pm today. Hit me up, ill try to answer as many as possible. Like I said, going off memories of a thing from 5 years ago so may not have all the answers (or any possibly) but yeah. Hit me up if you are nervous.