University threatened with legal action over trans-inclusive culture guidance

Freedom in the Arts (FITA) has issued a pre-action protocol letter to the University demanding the withdrawal of the guidance.

The organisation claims that the university’s guidance:

• unlawfully confuses legal definitions, treating “trans” as synonymous with the legally protected characteristic, “gender reassignment,”, conflating the term with categories such as “non-binary,” “gender non-conforming,” and “gender fluid” which are not protected under UK law;
• misrepresents the meaning of “sex” under the Equality Act 2010, contrary to the Supreme Court’s 2025 ruling in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers, which clarified that “sex” means biological sex;
• encourages museums and arts organisations to implement policies - such as allowing anyone to use toilets of their choice - which contravene the Health and Safety at Work Act and may constitute criminal offences;
• discriminates against those with protected philosophical beliefs (including gender critical views), through promoting contested ideological language, and advising organisations to exclude dissenting voices;
• advocates that employees with gender critical beliefs should “unlearn” their “binary thinking”, a position FITA argues is incompatible with freedom of belief.

Freedom in the Arts said: “As the leading University for Museums Studies in the UK, Leicester University is highly influential in the museums world. The Museums Association has embraced the guidance, alongside other leading organisations.”

The organisation revealed that due to the “predominance” of the guidance in the sector, its solicitors have also sent the letter before action to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

It said: “It is vital that the Secretary of State is involved in any future guidance that is issued to ensure it accurately represents the legal obligations of the arts and heritage sector.”

In the letter before action, FITA asks the university to:

• immediately withdraw the guidance from its website;
• acknowledge that it contains legal errors;
• commit to producing revised guidance that respects all protected characteristics under the Equality Act.

FITA said: “FITA offered to assist the university in reviewing and correcting the guidance after the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling. That offer was formally rejected by the university on 29 July 2025.

“The errors in the guidance demonstrates the dangers of producing research in an echo chamber and failing to consider diverse perspectives. The Supreme Court’s ruling that, “sex” in law has always referred to biological sex, shows that the University of Leicester has misinformed the museums sector since the guidance’s publication in September 2023. FITA’s research suggests guidance such as this has contributed to the increasingly hostile environment in the arts for gender critical people.”

A University of Leicester spokesperson said: “The university is considering the content of the letter and it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Lottie Winson