Rapist in women's jail is direct result of gender fantasy

THEY say the best way to keep a secret is to make a speech on the floor of the House of Commons. But last week, a speech I made in Parliament unexpectedly received widespread attention across the mainstream news and social media.

- Miriam Cates

The reason for this was not that I had delivered some noteworthy oration, but rather because of the remarkable response that my speech evoked from another MP.

The debate was about the Government’s decision to block the Scottish Parliament’s Gender Recognition Bill, a piece of legislation that would allow anyone in Scotland to easily change the sex on their birth certificate. In my speech I supported this decision, on the grounds that the Bill would open legal loopholes that could be exploited by sexual predators.

To illustrate the dangers of allowing men to enter women’s spaces, I related a recent personal experience. I was alone in the women’s toilets at a restaurant, when a man dressed as a woman walked in and stood right behind me for some time, staring at me directly in the mirror.

As I said in my speech, I have no idea if this man meant any harm but, in that moment, my instincts as a woman kicked in – I felt frightened and fled.