A 13-year-old girl is seeking a judicial review against her local authority over its policy on transgender, which allows boys who identify as girls to use girls’ toilets and changing rooms, and vice versa.

The girl, who has not been identified, is seeking the review into Oxfordshire County Council’s Trans Inclusion Toolkit for Schools, which she says has made her feel that she has no right to privacy and that her safety could be compromised.

She is being backed by the Safer Schools Alliance campaign group, which claims there are thousands of girls who feel unable to speak out against the policy for fear of being accused of transphobia.

Read: How schools can support transgender children

Related: Transgender pupils are choosing to stay at single-sex schools after transitioning

The girl said: “Under these guidelines, I have no right to privacy from the opposite sex in changing rooms, loos or on residential trips.

“Sports could end up being unsafe as I am a really small teenage girl and boys are bigger than girls. This guidance could be used in any educational establishment in Oxfordshire, which possible includes sports clubs. 

Transgender policy

“The guidance makes me feel that my desire for privacy, dignity, safety and respect is wrong. It makes me feel sad, powerless and confused.”

The pupil filed her request for a judicial review yesterday.

Oxfordshire County Council said it had recently revised the toolkit with the help of “national experts and people who identify as trans”, and said it refuted the suggestion that it was failing to safeguard children.

A council spokesperson said: “This review confirmed the fundamental substance of the previous guidance, and has led to some improvements, which have been fully and unanimously approved by members of the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board.

“While we acknowledge this is a difficult and emotive area, we are confident the revised toolkit will provide helpful guidance to schools looking to support this potentially vulnerable group of young people.”

The guidance states: “Children and young people are supported through the Equality Act 2010 to access the toilet that corresponds to their gender identity; so trans girls because they are girls, can use the girls’ toilets and trans boys the boys’ toilets. Single-gender toilets can cause issues for children or young people who do not identify with a gender binary such as boy/girl.”

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.