Tasmanian Senator Claire Chandler says the vast majority of Australian women agree with children’s author J.K. Rowling and do not want to see transgender women in sport, change rooms, shelters or women’s health services.

Speaking in federal parliament on Wednesday the Tasmanian senator said Rowling had been abused for stating simple facts about gender and she was concerned that Sports Australia did not have a clear definition of who should be considered a woman.

“We’ve seen in the last week J.K. Rowling very eloquently explain the very real and very genuine concerns when it comes to single-sex spaces, speaking from her own experience as a woman and a victim of abuse. The vile abuse and threats which Ms Rowling has received for speaking out on these issues is disgraceful and highlights why many women are afraid to speak out on this issue despite the vast majority agreeing with Ms Rowling’s point of view.” Senator Chandler said.

“Women’s sport, single-sex change rooms and toilets, women’s health services, and women’s refuges and shelters are all clear examples of services which are designed to cater for a specific sex, with very good reason.”

Senator Chandler said she was concerned about the implementation of Sports Australia’s policy which allows transgender girls and women to participate in sport, saying it had been created without a suitable level of community consultation.

“During Senate estimates both Sport Australia and the AHRC refused point blank to name the organisations they consulted with as part of developing these guidelines. When I queried them about the practical implications of the suggestions in the guidelines, both organisations were evasive.”

The politician said there was a concern about people with male genitalia being in female changing rooms and transgender women being put in women’s prisons “due to their gender identity”.

Anti-transgender organisation Binary has applauded Senator Chandler’s speech calling her “courageous”.

Who is Claire Chandler?

Claire Chandler is a Liberal senator who was elected at the 2019 election. She was an analyst at Deloitte specialising in risk management, before moving into politics. She joined the Liberal party while at University and went on to become the President of the party’s Young Liberals at both a state and national level. She previously took part in a review looking into if there were any barriers within the Liberal party that stopped women being selected as candidates.

OIP Staff

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