CPS suggests failure to fund gender surgery represents abuse

In new guidance, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says spouses who refuse to fund their partner's gender surgery may be domestic abusers.

Nine types of behaviour have been listed by the CPS that could amount to abuse of trans or non-binary people by their partners or family members. These include "withholding money for transitioning" - which would include either spouse refusing to pay for counselling, gender surgery, or other treatment in a way that amounted to abuse or coercive control.

Other behaviour could be refusing to use their preferred name or pronoun, "criticising the victim for not being 'a real man or woman' if they have not undergone reassignment surgery" and "threatening [to] or sharing pre-transition images."

The Women's Rights Network (WRN), which campaigns for the sex-based rights of women has criticised the advice. The group has written to the head of the CPS, Max Hill, citing the guidance as "detrimental to women's trust and confidence" in the service.

The founder of the WRN, Heather Binning said: "How on earth can reluctance to pay for elective, unnecessary surgery from family finances be cited as an example of domestic abuse by anyone, let alone the CPS? The same document states that correctly referring to a family member's sex is also abuse. This completely ignores the difficulties and emotions many people experience when a family member identifies as something they clearly are not."

However, the CPS said the guidance was designed for prosecutors to handle trans and non-binary people who could "experience domestic abuse regardless of the gender identity of either person". The CPS said: "Trans and non-binary people can be subjected to unique forms of domestic abuse linked to their trans or non-binary identity".

The CPS also listed behaviour such as using the process of transitioning or "coming out" as a form of control, body shaming, minimising or disregarding the abuse by blaming the victim's "perception" on their hormones.

The guidance to prosecutors advises that gender identity is not the same as anatomical sex., stating: "Gender identity is what you know your gender to be and can only be decided by the individual for themselves."

PM Law 

Sheffield Solicitors