Two Girl Guide leaders have been thrown out of England’s Girl Scout equivalent after questioning a policy that doesn’t allow leaders to share if participants were formerly male.
The leaders were kicked out of the group after they questioned the safety of a new policy mandating that Girl Guide leaders are not allowed to share with girls or their parents if any Girl Guide members — including leaders — are biologically male, The Scottish Sun reported Monday.
Helen Watts’ 15-year-long membership was cut Friday because she expressed concern that parents should know if their daughter was sharing a restroom with a biological male. Watts ran Girlguiding’s Rainbow group in Ealing, London for five- to seven-year-old girls. (RELATED: Transgender Guidelines Changed To Allow Co-Ed Showers For Girl Guides)
“I am very upset and I am also really angry,” Watts told The Sunday Times. “We had some serious concerns about a policy that ignored basic safeguarding principles.”
Girlguiding offers programs for 5-year-old girls to 30-year-old women. The group leads charity initiatives and social action campaigns, and seeks to empower young girls and women with strong voices to provide them with the skills to affect positive change.
Watts also said that the policy puts leaders in difficult positions, according to The Times. “It contradicts other inclusion policies — for certain faith communities for instance — and it completely contradicts existing policies around informed parental consent,” she said.
“Two individuals were found to have breached our volunteer code of conduct and social media policy and sanctions have been applied accordingly,” Girl Guiding said in a statement. The decision was “not based on the individuals’ personal views,” the statement continues.
The identity of the second leader whose membership was terminated has not been made public.
Girlguiding did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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