Updated Transgender and Gender Identity Policy

Adrienne Hopkins, Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, shares news of an updated Transgender and Gender Identity Policy

The University’s Senior Leadership Team has recently approved an updated Transgender and Gender Identity Policy, which becomes effective from 1 March 2026. The policy reasserts the University’s commitment to supporting trans and gender non-conforming staff and students, and to creating an inclusive, open and supportive culture for all. 

Brookes Union officers, the LGBTQ+ Equality Steering Group and our LGBTQ+ Staff Network provided extensive input from their lived and professional experiences to inform the policy review.

The review process started with a series of engagement sessions to understand the experience and concerns of students and staff at Oxford Brookes, led by the EDI Team and the Chair of the LGBTQ+ Equality Steering Group, Professor Lindsay Williams, who noted:

“We were pleased to hear that there was general agreement that the University has been an inclusive space for trans staff and students, and that their experiences have been mostly positive, although some incidents of transphobia have occurred. We were also saddened, but not necessarily surprised, that external events over the last year or so have contributed to a growing sense of unease among our trans and gender non-conforming community”.

External influences have included the introduction of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act and the resulting guidance from the Office for Students, and the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of ‘sex’ for the purposes of the Equality Act (2010).

A clear point of feedback during the consultation on the draft policy was the centrality of privacy and confidentiality. The updated policy reinforces that no-one is obliged to reveal their trans status but, when they choose to do so, their right to privacy is of the utmost importance. It offers different options through which students and staff who wish to take steps to affirm their gender identity, or who have already done so, can seek support.

The policy also recognises the wider legislative and regulatory context that the University operates in, and seeks to provide clarity about the external factors that influence our approach to trans inclusion. For example, the University recognises the diversity of gender identities, but is required to collect and report on binary data by some external bodies, including Government departments such as HMRC. 

We have made a firm commitment to keep the policy under review as guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission and case law emerge over the coming months. 

We intend the policy update to be the beginning of an ongoing conversation about the experiences of trans and gender non-conforming students and staff at the University and part of a broader review of our approach to trans inclusion. Over the next few months, the LGBTQ+ Equality Steering Group, supported by the EDI Team, will identify the further actions that we need to put in place alongside the policy to support its implementation, as well as ways to ensure that trans and gender non-conforming students and staff feel part of an inclusive and supportive learning and work environment.

If you would like to tell us about your experience of trans inclusion at Oxford Brookes, or provide suggestions about the University's approach, please use the feedback form on our website. Your response will help inform our work.
 

Further information and resources

The University’s Accessibility Plan includes details of all the gender-neutral facilities available on campus.

Students can receive support from Student Support Services or from the trans and gender non-conforming student peer support group.

There are details of external support organisations on our website.