A Sinn Fein MLA says that questions asked in an Assembly committee about a Stormont department’s definition of a woman are “homophobic” – but the TUV say they will not stop raising issues which pose “a direct threat to the safety of women”.

TUV MLA Timothy Gaston has been quizzing Executive Office officials about how they define the word woman, after confusion has been sewn on the matter by trans activists in recent years.

His line of questioning has prompted outrage from Sinn Fein and Alliance representatives on the Executive Office committee – where he has previously been accused of being “grossly offensive” by the chairperson.

While the globally understood meaning is ‘adult human female’, other definitions by LGBTQ+ lobby groups have crept into many public bodies in the UK. They argue that men can be women if they identify as such.

placeholder image — Sinn Fein MLA Carál Ní Chuilín says questions about the Executive Office's definition of a woman are "homophobic".

Carál Ní Chuilín objected to the North Antrim MLA’s line of questioning on the matter, deeming it “homophobic”.

She told Wednesday’s meeting of the Executive Office committee: “Some of the things that Timothy is saying about the definition of women I find homophobic. If it was sectarian or if it was racist it would be challenged”.

Ms Ní Chuilín appears to have used the wrong ‘phobia’ in her comments, as homophobia relates to a prejudice against gay people. Many gay people reject so-called ‘gender ideology’ and do not believe that any human being can change their sex.

The issue has caused splits in the gay rights establishment, with many gay men and lesbians leaving legacy organisations over their support for trans ideology and their belief in a long list of “gender identities”.

Mr Gaston told the News Letter: “There shouldn’t be any controversy about what a woman is, particularly when Ms O’Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly’s department has announced a violence against women strategy as one of their flagship policies.

“Yet more than a month after a reply was due, the First and deputy First Minister haven’t been able to answer my question to them asking for ‘the agreed departmental understanding of the word woman as employed in the Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls’.”

“This is far from being a merely semantic point. As I made clear during the committee on Wednesday, granting biological men access to female only spaces is something which is a direct threat to the safety of women”.

He described Carál Ní Chuilín’s comments as bizarre. “Before checking for a definition of a woman she needs to check the definition of homophobia. Perhaps she meant to accuse me of transphobia but that’s not for me to explain.

“Simply raising these issues in the past has provoked the ire of Alliance, with [committee chair] Ms Bradshaw telling me ‘mind your language’ and accusing me of being ‘grotesquely offensive’. I will not, however, be silenced and have been contacted by women from across the political spectrum who recognise these are serious issues.”