In recent years there has been a concerted campaign to deny people who strongly and wholly identify as women the right to be treated as women.

Sadly this has in some cases been taken up by a small number of women who believe that the rights and aspirations of trans women are in conflict with the rights and aspirations of all women.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Trans and gender diverse people want nothing more than the same chance to live well, have a job that supports them and a house they feel safe in, to be accepted by a society that treats them with respect and to have agency over their bodies, just like all women. 

None of this undermines or detracts from the protection and advancement of women’s rights — in fact it only underlines and advances it.

The notion that more than 50 per cent of the population is somehow facing an existential threat from the one per cent of people who are transgender is a case study in absurdity.

Trans people already face extraordinary rates of discrimination compared to other members of our communities, and they are a tiny minority facing barriers to acceptance that are unimaginable to most of us.

We understand there is a level of confusion around women who are trans and a lack of knowledge about the issues they face, and we welcome conversations that are respectful and kind.

To this point it is worth noting trans women experience extraordinary rates of sexual assault and discrimination — most often at the hands of men — and are among the most likely in our society to experience violence and harassment, including from intimate partners.

If this sounds familiar, it should. Attacking trans women does nothing to address the real problems all women face, including domestic violence, gender equality and pay equity.

We share these struggles with trans women because we are all women. We are more than our ovaries and wombs and we all have the right to make decisions about our own bodies, to not be discriminated against, and to feel safe.

Every one of us, whether transgender or not, should be able to participate in public life on equal terms. We the signatories support the safety, rights and wellbeing of all women.