New ‘gender diverse’ guidelines for Australian Surf Life Saving Clubs have raised fears the organisation is being ‘highjacked by activists’.
The draft ‘Diverse Gender Factsheet for Surf Life Saving Clubs’ details how the organistaion should instruct members to ‘retrain your brain’ to avoid calling people by their biological gender.
The guidelines say that volunteers should advocate for the rights of gender diverse people and that clubs should include more ‘gender neutral’ spaces and unisex toilets.
Surf Lifesaving Australia members have raised their concerns about the new guidelines, suggesting instead that clubs should focus on their core objective of keeping Australians safe in the water.
Women’s Forum Australia chief executive Rachel Wong raised concern that female members may not feel comfortable sharing change rooms and toilets with biological males.
‘And how included will little girls be when pushed out of their competitions by boys identifying as girls?’ she said.