Universities UK, a body that represents nearly 200 higher education establishments in the country, scrapped its guidance permitting segregation of sexes at speaker events within university premises.

The guidelines declared that:

“Assuming the side-by-side segregated seating arrangement is adopted, there does not appear to be any discrimination on gender grounds merely by imposing segregated seating. Both men and women are being treated equally, as they are both being segregated in the same way”.

It had previously suggested that it was acceptable to enforce segregation by sex at events open to the public. However, pressure from protesters and, most recently, David Cameron, has forced them to change their mind.

According to Student Rights, 46 events at 21 institutions either explicitly promotes segregation by sex or implied it.

From a libertarian perspective, private institutions may have any and all guidelines they desire. If this includes sex segregation, so be it. However, the vast majority of universities in the UK are publicly funded. Sex segregation has no place in the public life of Western civilisation. Any attempts to tolerate such a practice are simply pandering to the oppressive beliefs of barbaric religions, and highlight the inherent hypocrisy of political correctness.