CAMPAIGNERS protesting against Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance that banned trans people from single-sex spaces ended up in a clash with police officers on Monday.
The protest began peacefully, with three campaigners holding a banner on a balcony outside of the EHRC’s Glasgow office on West George Street on Monday. It is unclear how they managed to get into the building.
At one point, they could be seen doing the macarena, while a small group gathered across the street near a Wetherspoons.
Despite the wind and rain, the three remained in place as six officers could be seen entering the building. Shortly afterwards, two officers were seen taking in equipment, including a large crowbar.
At just after 12pm, police officers could be seen in the windows behind the three masked activists, appearing to struggle to get them open.
Two female officers entered the balcony and tried to talk to the protesters, but they would not make eye contact with them. Then, three male officers came onto the balcony and led the three away.
It would be another 15 minutes before two of the three were led out of the building in handcuffs into a waiting police van.
As the van tried to leave, shouts could be heard as one activist forced themselves underneath, and a group put themselves in front of the bonnet holding a trans flag and placards, attempting to stop the vehicle from leaving.
A scuffle ensued, with video showing one activist throwing a coffee over an officer, while other police could be seen pushing activists out of the way, trying to clear the road.
One activist was pinned to the ground by two officers and handcuffed, while the police van blared its sirens.
The activist was taken away from the scene as the van left, while another was held up against a marked police car and handcuffed.
Legal observers told The National they were unsure what happened to the third protester on the balcony, with some campaigners theorising they had been taken out the back door, either due to their age, or because of the clash between protesters and police.
In total, The National saw four people in handcuffs taken away by officers.
Police Scotland would later confirm that six people had been arrested. Five as part of the protest, and a sixth arrested and charged for an alleged assault, who was being kept in police custody ahead of a court appearance.
Three of those arrested were aged 17, one aged 32, and one 18-year-old, the force said.
Trans Kids Deserve Better, the group behind the action, said in a statement: “The young activists are determined to get their rage, anger and sorrow out and this action is the way to do it.”
After the protest had died down and police had left the scene, a number of campaigners headed to Govan police station, in Helen Street, where they believed at least one of those involved in the protest had been taken.
Alexander, who did not give a last name, said that police officers in the station were refusing to release any details.
“At this time, we're obviously just very angry about what's happened. We think it could have been handled better.
“We think that if there was a lot more like speaking, asking people to move, the whole situation would have been a lot more respectful if there was a bit more communication there, instead of going in straight to force.”
The EHRC interim guidance has banned trans men and women from toilets and other single-sex spaces, an approach dubbed “authoritarian” and segregation.
The Glasgow office was previously the site of a large protest on May 2 with campaigners urging the commission to scrap the guidance. A full updated guidance on single-sex spaces, following the Supreme Court ruling that defined a woman as “biological sex” under the Equality Act 2010, has been delayed while a consultation is undertaken.
Speaking outside of Govan police station, Alexander added: “We really just want the EHRC to listen to all of the people that are yelling at them like, this is dangerous, this is going to kill people.
“Young trans people, specifically, who are still trying to discover their identity, are being shut down with all of these rules that some of them probably don't even understand, which personally, in my opinion, and probably the people behind me think that's quite bad and disrespectful.”
Around 22 campaigners were still at Govan station in the late afternoon, and despite the rain and wind, could be heard singing, with some turning up with food supplies and coffee.
