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Scottish women’s groups warn Anas Sarwar that he “cannot hide any longer” and will be held to account on Gender Recognition Reform Bill

DECEMBER 2022

Grassroots organisations in Scotland have written a powerful plea to Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, on Monday 12 December urging him follow his conscience ahead of the Scottish parliamentary vote on the Gender Recognition Reform Bill on 21 December.
The letter was also sent to all Labour MSPs.

Dear Anas,

We are writing as representatives of grassroots organisations focused on the interests of women and children in Scotland, with thousands of members between us.

We urge you, Anas, to dig deep and have the courage to follow your conscience and vote against the Gender Recognition Reform Bill when it comes before the Scottish Parliament later this month. It is not too late to speak out against this Bill and to do what we hope you personally know is right.

We have seen the way you have been treating gender identity ideology: as a sticky political issue to manage your way through while employing tactics to manoeuvre as if it were Brexit or Indy.

We see your strategy to try to lie low until this all blows over, taking the middle ground on this ‘divisive issue with strong opinions on both sides’, rather than understanding this as part of a well-coordinated global effort to erode women’s rights, by annihilating biological sex as having any meaning in law or policy – an aim we find terrifying. If you have not understood this, you have not really listened. At least, you have not listened to us. You have listened only to those who want this law.

We see you and other senior party figures not taking seriously the most significant bill on the safety of women and children in Scotland’s devolved history by delegating the issue to a relatively inexperienced MSP who seems to be struggling with or unwilling to hold the Scottish Government to account.

We see without actually witnessing the smug smirks of relief and high-fives behind closed doors when you and your senior colleagues ‘do well’ in answering a valid question in public or through the media.

We also saw that you ignored an important opportunity to hold the Scottish Government to account following the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls’ critical statement on this issue. Ignore her advice at your peril.

You cannot hide any longer. We women see you, we are angry, and we won’t wheesht. Women’s hard-won rights are not a political game.

The GRR Bill is about violent male offenders locked in women’s prisons, like HMP Cornton Vale, with some of the most vulnerable women in our society.

It is the biggest medical scandal of our time, with lifelong implications for children and young people who have been sterilised and their healthy body parts sacrificed by the NHS.

Lesbian women are being thrown to the wolves and will be forced to open lesbian events and spaces to heterosexual men in possession of a Gender Recognition Certificate, in violation of their right to freedom of association.

Critically, the undermining of sex-based rights in the Equality Act – Labour’s flagship legislation – is at stake. Redefining ‘woman’ to mean a subset of our own sex category is undeniably a misogynistic attack. This is what the Scottish Government is trying to make sure happens, right now, in court. Making being a woman under equalities law depend on little more than saying a few words shows contempt for women’s real lives, real struggles, real fears.

The assumption that this will blow over and that Scottish Labour will have a relatively smooth ride to the next election is wrong. Any vote in favour of the GRR Bill will not end the controversy. The Scottish public has an increasing grasp on the implications of the GRR Bill and grows more furious as time goes on.

We will not let voters forget that you personally, as party leader, were knowingly and wilfully complicit in ignoring all the warnings, including from women in the Labour Party. All those who vote in favour of the GRR Bill will be held responsible for all its negative outcomes. Self-id of sex was brought in by stealth in other countries, with limited public and media scrutiny, but you must be aware of the growing resistance movements in these countries now that the impact is becoming reality.

We number in our thousands and we have a strong voice that we will continue to use. Many of us are politically homeless having previously been lifelong Labour supporters. Many others are reevaluating their previously steadfast pro-Indy stance given the significance of the Equality Act (2010) to this Bill. We value the strong leadership and determination of the Scottish Conservatives, who are unlikely political allies for many of us, in challenging this Bill. Yet, it is deeply disappointing that Scottish Labour have done little so far to scrutinise and hold the Scottish Government to account on this issue. There are thousands of potential Labour supporters amongst us, but never in our lifetime will we support a party that is so cavalier with the lives of women and children.

Today we make a deeply personal plea for you to remember what inspired you to enter politics and to apply those values in your decision-making on the GRR Bill. During your leadership campaign, you shared that your mother has been your greatest political inspiration based on her bravery and courage in times of crisis, and we urge you to genuinely consider what she would do in your position.

If you do not take a principled stance as leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, we will hold you accountable for the suffering of women and children in the years to come.

We look forward to seeing you oppose the manoeuvring to rush this Bill through Parliament before Christmas. At the very least, call for its postponement while more serious deliberations take place on its far-reaching implications for the safety of women and girls in Scotland. This pause will also give time for clarifications, through relevant pending court judgements, on the implications of obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate in relation to the single-sex exceptions in the Equality Act.

As ever, any one of our organisations would be delighted to meet with you to discuss further.

We look forward to hearing from you.

LAST UPDATED: 13 MARCH 2023
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Groups

Women Speak ScotlandScottish Feminist Network
Women’s Declaration International ScotlandWomen’s Rights Network Scotland
Audacious Women FestivalConcerned Adults Talking Openly About Gender Identity Ideology
Women Voting With Our FeetSafeguarding Our Schools Scotland

Individuals

Jean MarshallLisa Randall
Sally MillarMagi Gibson
Caroline MeagherKate Graham
Jeremy WickinsLucy Powls
Donna MuirChristine Lowden
Leanne YoungJennie Stones
Cath AllenLinda Killen
Dawn SusanSally Richardson
Vee ColvinMary Howden
Lucy A.Georgina Cosby
Geraldine HamiltonShelagh Tooley
Cheryl Chapman
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Letter to Peter Hope-Jones, Head of Gender Recognition Unit

February 2022

On 14 January 2022, WSS requested a meeting with Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, to discuss women’s and girl’s rights in Scotland due to the SNP’s proposed reform of the Gender Recognition Act.

On 24 January 2022, we were disappointed to receive a response explaining that due to the volume of meeting requests the Cabinet Secretary could not commit to meeting with everyone. Instead, we were offered a meeting with the Gender Recognition Unit.

We arranged a meeting with the GRU for 15 February 2022. We were given a 30-minute slot with Peter Hope-Jones, the Head of the GRU. This was a frustratingly short period of time in which to air our concerns and raise questions. Predictably, there was much that was left unanswered. However, we were encouraged to send in a follow-up letter as our questions might be addressed via this format.

You can read our letter to the Head of the GRU that describes the questions that were raised on the day of the meeting as well as a number of further questions that have yet to be answered by the Scottish Government on this issue.

VIEW LETTER TO GENDER RECOGNITION UNIT
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WSS seeking meeting with Scottish Government minister on GRA reform

January 2022

According to an article by the Scottish Daily Express, a Scottish Government spokesperson has said: “No group that has requested a meeting about the Gender Recognition Bill has been refused. Further ministerial meetings with a range of organisations, including those who have recently been in touch with a request, will take place ahead of the bill being introduced to Parliament.”

We note that the SNP promised in their manifesto to work with all interest groups, including women, on proposed changes to the GRA. Ministers have since met with five government-funded LGBT groups but no grassroots women’s groups.

Women Speak Scotland agree with policy analysis collective MurrayBlackburnMackenzie that “it is unreasonable to place responsibility for fulfilling a manifesto commitment on what are almost all exclusively volunteer-run groups working on shoestring with no public funding, no inside knowledge of the planned timetable and no established access to government”. Unlike the pro-self-ID lobbyists who have paid employees, we are a group of women from all walks of life, most of us juggling work and caring responsibilities, doing this on a voluntary basis.

Nonetheless, we welcome the Scottish Government’s professed willingness to meet with a wider range of organisations. We have written to Shona Robison MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, to request a meeting to discuss women’s and girls’ rights in Scotland, in relation to the upcoming proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act.

We will update on whatever response we receive.

View Letter to Cabinet secretary

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Gender Identity: Census and Data Collection

(Last Updated: 17 October 2021)

UK will divide over census sex question
The Times – 05/10/2021

Sex, gender identity, trans status – data collection and publication: guidance
Chief Statistician (Scotland) – 22/09/2021
Roger Halliday, the chief statistician in Scotland, has chosen to ignore the findings of a public consultation. Analysis of the consultation noted that “disaggregating data between men and women can show where there is continuing discrimination which needs to be tackled.”
But Halliday has drawn up guidance that fails to acknowledge the importance of collecting data on sex. He states that information about whether a respondent is male or female should only be recorded in “a small number of instances”, “on an individual basis for a very specific purpose” and “on a case-by-case basis”.
The rationale he gives is that “asking individuals to disclose their sex may raise privacy issues.” Halliday notes that “in some cases this would have the potential to reveal a trans history that otherwise a person may wish to keep private”.

Sex and the census: why surveys should not conflate sex and gender identity
Alice Sullivan – 19/05/2020

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Women’s organisations call on MSPs to reject Scottish Government’s proposal to reform the Gender Recognition Act

September 2021

A joint statement by Scottish women’s organisations on women’s sex-based rights and the Scottish Government’s proposal to reform the Gender Recognition Act

Introduction

This statement has been issued by 14 Scottish grassroots feminist and women’s rights organisations in response to the Scottish Government’s announcement that it intends to reform the Gender Recognition Act (GRA)[1]. The First Minister offered an assurance that this new legislation will “not… remove any of the legal protections women currently have”. We welcome that commitment to women’s sex-based rights. However a central feature of the proposed Bill is the introduction of sex self-ID and we do not believe that this can be compatible with the retention of existing women’s rights and protections under the Equality Act 2010. We use the term sex self-id instead of gender self-id because the most significant aspect of obtaining a gender recognition certificate (GRC) is that it allows people to engage in the legal fiction that they have become a member of the opposite sex, despite the biological impossibility of such an action. This contributes to widespread confusion, which makes it increasingly difficult to name, define or identify women, or to protect our single-sex spaces. We therefore call on all MSPs to reject this Bill in its entirety.

We would like to take this opportunity to make clear what the Scottish Government would need to do to ensure this commitment to women[2] is kept.

We demand that women’s voices and experiences are heard and inform any legislative change.

To date the Scottish Government has predominantly engaged with a small selection of publicly funded trans-rights and women’s sector organisations, none of which consult with or claim to represent women’s views. Any legislative change must include meaningful engagement with a wide range of grassroots women’s rights organisations and take fully into account the needs of women.

Any changes to legislation must ensure that protections for women on the basis of our sex are strengthened, rather than weakened.

We oppose sex self-ID as it is detrimental to the overall interests and the sex-based rights of women. It would fundamentally transform our legal, political, social and cultural landscape with no objective assessment or analysis of the consequences for women and girls (or boys).

Removing any medical requirement from the process of obtaining a gender recognition certificate (GRC) would open up the process to abuse[3]. It would be at best naïve and at worst criminally negligent to deny that predatory men will take advantage of any opportunity to gain access to women and girls when they are at their most vulnerable.

Additionally, removing medical diagnosis would remove protections and essential support to individuals considering transition but for whom this may not be the right course of action to deal with the distress they are experiencing.

In recent years, the Scottish Government and many other public organisations, including Police Scotland, the Scottish Prison Service[4] and the NHS[5], have operated an informal process of sex self-identification, effectively turning single-sex spaces such as hospital wards, prisons, youth hostels and changing rooms, sports, awards and women-only shortlists into mixed-sex provision. These decisions were undertaken with little or no consideration for the effect on women, especially in prisons. The Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments in these cases are usually not fit for purpose.

Increasing amounts of official data, which ought to record the protected characteristic of sex, are now being collected on the basis of someone’s self-declared gender identity (for example, Police Scotland recording male rapists and sex offenders as ‘female’[6]). This seriously compromises the integrity of the data and makes it even more difficult to develop policies to overcome the disadvantage, oppression and discrimination faced by women.

This self-ID by stealth ignores and undermines the protections offered to women by the Equality Act, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, CEDAW and elsewhere.

We believe everyone should be able to live their lives in safety, free from discrimination or harassment. However, we oppose the introduction of any measures increasing the rights of males who identify as women or other genders to access women’s spaces, services and occupational roles on the basis of such professed identity as this is incompatible with the sex-based rights of women.

The Scottish Government must maintain single-sex spaces for the dignity, privacy, physical, emotional and psychological safety of women and girls.

There has long been a widespread recognition of the need for women-only spaces and facilities. Excluding the entire sex class of males from such provisions for women has, until recently, been entirely uncontroversial, despite the fact that not all males are predatory, violent or present a danger to women. It is a proportionate way to protect women and girls from the minority of males who do present a threat. Furthermore, the exclusion of all males as part of helping traumatised women is a proven feminist approach within the MVAWG (Male Violence Against Women and Girls) sector.

Some males who say they are not men now wish to be given an exemption from this general exclusion. Yet male patterns of offending behaviour do not vary according to gender identity[7] and trans-identified males also retain male physical and social advantages. We believe this is neither fair nor safe for women, and therefore there is no case for allowing them privileged access to women’s spaces and facilities.

The Scottish Government must therefore:

  • ensure single-sex spaces, facilities and other provisions are fully protected;
  • strengthen the rights of women to create and access them through clear guidance;
  • ensure in-depth and thorough Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments are carried out, especially in sectors and services where sex self-ID has been introduced by stealth ahead of legislation, so that public bodies in Scotland are not potentially in breach of their Public Sector Equality Duty.

The Scottish Government must guarantee that the human rights of women, including those to freedom of speech and assembly, are not adversely affected by legislative change.

We believe all people should be free to define themselves in whatever way they choose. But we reject the demeaning implication, outlined for example in the Gender Representation of Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018, that being a woman can be reduced to a series of pronouns, the name on a utility bill, a haircut or a dress.

Whatever label an individual chooses, the law must acknowledge that men cannot literally become women and women cannot literally become men. Women should not be compelled to act as though this is so, whether in our personal, professional, social or sexual lives.

Conclusion

We call on the Scottish Government to drop its plans to introduce sex self-ID and ask all MSPs to vote against such a Bill as it would have a hugely detrimental impact on women’s rights to safe single-sex spaces and freedom of speech.

[1] https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,gender-reform-bill-to-progress-after-review-of-consultation-is-2

[2] For the avoidance of doubt, in this document the word ‘women’ always refers to females unless the context makes clear otherwise.

[3] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/letting-criminals-self-identify-gender-putting-women-at-risk-8560wzkqt

[4] https://forwomen.scot/03/08/2021/the-status-of-women-in-scotland-prisons/

[5] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nhs-greater-glasgow-and-clyde-withdraws-trans-advice-for-female-only-wards-5xmgxndd6

[6] https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rape-suspects-can-choose-to-self-identify-as-female-vfl678tg6

[7] https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/18973/pdf/

Last Updated: 24 JANUARY 2022
To sign the statement as a group or an individual, Please message us

Signatories

Frontline Feminists ScotlandWomen Speak Scotland
Sole SistersWomen Matter
Keep Prisons Single SexLiberal Voice for Women
Yes Women’s PledgeLabour Women’s Declaration
Conservatives For WomenIndependence for Scotland Party (ISP)
Brodie’s TrustAudacious Women Festival
National Network of Scottish FeministsWomen’s Human Rights Campaign (Scotland)

Aberdeen (City and Shire) FeministsArgyll Feminists
Ayrshire FeministsBorders Feminists
Clackmannanshire FeministsDundee and Angus Feminists
Dumbarton and Helensburgh FeministsDumfries and Galloway Feminists
Edinburgh and Lothians FeministsFalkirk Feminists
Fife FeministsGlasgow Feminists
Highlands and Islands FeministsInverclyde Feminists
Lanarkshire North FeministsLanarkshire South Feminists
Moray FeministsPerth Feminists
Renfrewshire FeministsStirling Feminists
Not for Sale in ScotlandALBA Women
Women’s Rights Network

Supporters

GC Men Scotland

Individuals

Lisa RandallJillian Nicol
Victoria RichardsMiriam Berlow-Jackson
Marjory SmithFiona Martin
Nina GriffithRosemary Griffin
Fiona MacdonaldGordon Dangerfield
(Scottish Solicitor Advocate)
Angela JukesLiz Panton
Stefanie MosesEileen Gilpin
Pauline CurwenLiz Elkind
Donald DickieLinda Hamilton
Tracey HynanJoanna Young
Mary MacCallum SullivanEurig Scandrett
Margaret Lynn HamiltonMaureen Beaton
Claire GowerDeborah Dudley
Jeannie MackenzieCarrie Jarvis
Ian MillerMairi MacIver
Margaret ParisAnn Hall
Catherine GillespieAnne Trevorrow
Denise FindlayLeanne Young
Cathryn ReillyLinda Craig
Jennifer GorrodJulia Lamb Tod
Rosemary Whyte

In the MEdia

North Edinburgh News

Comments

“I fully support this statement and commend all the organisations for working closely to send this strong statement. I hope Scottish Government takes note.”

“I wholeheartedly support these women’s organisations in asking the Scottish Government to look again at the SelfID proposed under a review of the GRA. 51% of the electorate in Scotland are women – adult human females and I absolutely object to the definition of my sex category to behind redefined to include men who insist on being called women, even though there is no biological evidence to prove this . Dressing up as a woman will never make them women but they want access to women and girls spaces, Women/females absolutely object to this. If you were so certain that the women of Scotland will agree to this then why don’t you do a consultation with adult female women who live in Scotland, not organisations and individuals with vested interests. Women are not giving up on this and your party will be very foolish to pursue a policy that WILL put women at risk.”

“I will be proud to sign this declaration calling on our elected representatives to scrap the GRA review. I believe the introduction of ‘self-id’ is dangerous in many respects. I expressed this in my response to the consultation exercise on the GRA reform.
It does nothing to help people with gender dysphoria who need specialist mental health care and not immediate affirmation. Autogynephilia among men is a condition that needs to be more widely recognised and treated. The fact that the cult of trans ideology seeks to stymie any discussion should be enough of a red flag to our government to halt the Bill and take much more time to explore the potential consequences. There are plenty of cases in Canada and America to be examined. Cases of men self-identifying their way into women’s prisons and shelters where they go on to assault and rape female inmates.”

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International Women’s Day Statement of Solidarity with Joanna Cherry (by Men Supporting Women’s Rights)

Men Supporting women’s rights

International Women’s Day Statement of Solidarity
with Joanna Cherry (and other women abused for speaking out).

Men Supporting Women’s Rights was set up in 2019 to challenge the new expressions of misogyny that have emerged in recent years. We are men from a wide range of backgrounds, sexualities and political opinions drawn together by a shared concern at the very negative implications that extremist ‘gender identity’ ideology has for women and girls. This ideology has, under the guise of ‘progressiveness’ captured powerful institutions across society with alarming speed and with almost no public discussion. The lack of public discussion is a product of fear. Anyone who openly challenges the new orthodoxy is likely to be subjected to a campaign of lies, vilification and threats of violence. As men we see it as important that we stand up and be counted by standing shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with the many courageous women who have defied the bullies and continued to speak the truth.

The most high-profile example in recent times has been the continual harassment, abuse and threats of sexual violence, including death threats, aimed at Joanna Cherry MP. These threats have come from numerous gender ideologues, shockingly some of them fellow members of the SNP. One recent threat from a party member has lead to a criminal investigation and an arrest. This campaign of misogynist bullying targeted at a Lesbian feminist politician has now been going on for years. It is calculated to send a clear message to all women: “Shut up and accept our dictatorial worldview or we will destroy you”.

One of the most appalling aspects of this has been the utter absence of any condemnation of these sickening threats from the leadership of the SNP. Ms. Cherry has received no support, solidarity or offers of protection from her party bosses. Indeed Nicola Sturgeon, who appears willing to stake her reputation on allowing any man to legally self-identify as a woman simply by making a declaration, has made her own thinly-veiled attack on Ms Cherry in a video in which she accused her own party of “transphobia”. And last month’s proposed amendments to the controversial Hate Crime Bill that might have afforded some protection to gender-critical women like Ms Cherry from prosecution for “stirring up hatred” were suddenly abandoned by the Justice Secretary, Humza Yousaf, after more threats from gender fanatics.

We conclude from all this that in effect the most powerful people in Scotland are, through their silence and through their actions, giving support to misogynist thugs who have no respect for women, no respect for free speech and no respect for laws against threatening, violent and abusive behaviour. Men Supporting Women’s Rights believe that this will go down in history as one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the SNP and of Scottish political life.

To mark International Women’s Day the members of Men Supporting Women’s Rights want to make it clear that we are standing in solidarity with Joanna Cherry over this issue. We condemn the behaviour of many so called ‘trans-activists’ in abusing and threatening women. We condemn the cowardice and complicity of her party bosses in failing to stand up for truth and decency. We stand in solidarity with all the women who have suffered abuse for bravely speaking out against the new misogyny that is expressed through an ideology that redefines women’s very existence whilst attempting to deny them even a right of reply. We call on all men to do what they can to stand up for women’s right to maintain long established sex-based legal protections, and to offer their support to women in defining their own existence without being vilified and threatened.

MSWR

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Manifesto for Women’s Rights in Scotland to be launched

Women Speak Scotland is publishing a ‘Manifesto for Women’s Rights in Scotland’ on International Women’s Day (8 March) ahead of the Holyrood election on 6 May. The Manifesto demands the protection and implementation of women’s human and legal rights. WSS will invite all parliamentary candidates to support it.

The Manifesto affirms women’s sex-based human rights, which are enshrined in international treaties and national legislation. It includes rights related to:

  • Safety and Privacy
  • Health and Bodily Autonomy
  • Freedom of Speech and Association
  • Fairness in Sport
  • Accurate Data
  • Freedom from Male Violence and Exploitation
  • Young Women and Girls

WSS says the Scottish Government must make a commitment to uphold women’s rights, regardless of which party/parties form the next administration. WSS believes the Manifesto is necessary because recent years have seen the gradual erosion of women’s rights. A spokeswoman for the group said “Women have been fighting for our rights for over 100 years but now we are facing a serious backlash. We are seeing the advances we’ve made being watered down or removed one by one. Public bodies and organisations too often dismiss women’s concerns. Many organisations now routinely confuse ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ which has the effect of reducing or removing women’s rights.

“The Scottish Government appears to be mounting an attack on women’s rights. For example, it has recently redefined the term ‘women’ to include men in relation to the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act. The Act was intended to address the historical under-representation of women on these boards, but is seriously undermined by allowing males to take places designated for women.

“The Hate Crime Bill proposed by the Scottish Government is in its final stage and will be debated at Holyrood on Wednesday. WSS is very concerned that the Government is refusing to offer protection to female victims who are attacked because of their sex despite widespread support for this measure. As it stands, the Bill will criminalise women advocating for our sex-based rights, including the maintenance of existing legal rights. So the WSS Manifesto demand for the protection of the right to freedom of speech is essential.

“We seem to be on a slippery slope which risks making women invisible both to the law and in national statistics. For example, there is a suggestion that the next Census in Scotland will not record the population according to our sex, even though this is crucial for planning many services, or identifying inequalities such as the sex pay gap. WSS is determined to reverse this trend and make sure the voices of the majority of women in Scotland are heard.

“Scottish Parliamentary candidates should be aware that women’s votes count – we are nearly 52% of the electorate – and we intend to make sure that women’s rights and concerns are not ignored during this election, nor by the incoming government.

“We also hope the Manifesto will empower those women who aren’t yet confident being involved in politics or activism, to feel able to engage in conversation with candidates in their constituencies, by providing information about some of the most important issues facing us at present.”

Copies of the Manifesto can be downloaded from the WSS website from 8 March onwards.

In the Media

Women’s manifesto aims to put pressure on Scottish parties to ‘reaffirm sex-based rights’
Scotsman (Gina Davidson) – Sunday, 7 March 2021

Nicola Sturgeon says she was first told of allegations about Alex Salmond in 2017. I heard the rumours in 2010
Scotsman (Susan Dalgety) – Saturday, 6 March 2021

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The Law Commission consultation on Hate Crime

(Last Updated: 23 December 2020)

The Law Commission is carrying out a consultation on reforming the Hate Crime legislation in England and Wales. There are two ways to respond to the consultation – one based on the summary of the consultation paper, and another based on the full consultation paper. The public are invited to respond to either one of them by Thursday, 24 December 2020.

Consultation – SummaryConsultation – Full
Summary Paper
(24 pages)		Full Paper
(544 pages)
Respond to summary consultation
(20 questions)		Respond to full consultation
(62 questions)
PDF of 20 questionsPDF of 62 questions

We recommend that you respond to the full consultation if you can as there are some further questions related to transgender identity that are not covered by the summary version. Although most of the questions are quite technical, you do not have to answer every question in either version of the consultation. You can focus on the areas that concern you the most. The online consultation response page allows you to save your progress and return to the form later to continue filling it in.

Questions worth focusing on

This is based on the full consultation paper. Concentrate on the ones that are likely to be used to silence gender critical campaigners and women in general.

The concept of ‘serious emotional harm’ is subjective and open to misuse / abuse (as has already happened – Maya Forstater, Harry Miller, Kate Scottow, J. K. Rowling etc). Provide examples from gender critical contexts and in relation to free speech generally.

Lord Justice Sedley in Redmond-Bate v DPP, for example, stated:
“Free speech includes not only the inoffensive but the irritating, the contentious, the eccentric, the heretical, the unwelcome and the provocative… Freedom only to speak inoffensively is not worth having.“

The Scottow v CPS case is also helpful. “The Prosecution argument failed entirely to acknowledge the well-established proposition that free speech encompasses the right to offend, and indeed to abuse another.“
From Maya Forstater’s blog post reviewing the year 2020 (which also lists other cases) – Finally in mid-December, Kate Scottow’s criminal conviction was quashed. The judges declared that the case should never have been prosecuted and the judges reasoning in finding Kate guilty was deficient. They said it would be a “serious interference” with the right of free speech if “those wishing to express their own views could be silenced by, or threatened with, proceedings for harassment based on subjective claims by individuals that felt offended or insulted”.

Question 7 – including asexuality in definition of sexual orientation.
See WhatIsAsexuality.com and Asexuality.org for information to help write response.

Question 8 – expanding definition of transgender identity from gender reassignment to explicitly include non-binary, cross-dressing and intersex.

Questions 11 to 14 – in relation to gender or sex. You can use the example of the recent amendment to the Scottish Forensic Medical Services Bill to highlight the importance of ensuring the word ‘sex’ is used.
Dear MSPs…from survivors
FWS Statement on the Vote for Lamont Amendment
Gender in practice can refer to trans identity, “genderfluidity” or a plethora of “non-binary” identities like “maverique” which cannot be easily defined in law. See “The big list of gender identities“.

Question 17 – whether sex workers should be recognised as a hate crime category.

Question 20 – whether philosophical beliefs should be recognised as a hate crime category.

Question 25 – extending the characteristics protected by aggravated offences.

Questions 31 and 32 – proposals that aggravated versions of sexual offences should not be introduced and whether legal test in the context of aggravated offences should cover more than one protected characteristic.

Questions 47 to 52, 54, 55 – related to the offences of ‘stirring up hatred’.

Notes

Q: Why is the list of protected characteristics in Equality Act and Hate Crime legislation different?
Equality Act deals with civil law while Hate Crime legislation deals with criminal law. It is Parliament that determines what the protected characteristics are, and it appears that different sets of characteristics formed the basis of the two types of legislation as they evolved over time (for example, gender reassignment in Equality Act and transgender status/identity in England & Wales Hate Crime legislation.)

Transgender identity was added to the enhanced sentencing regime in 2012.
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 – Part 3, CHAPTER 1, General, Section 65
The Law Commission wants to revise the definition of transgender identity to make explicit reference to people who are transgender, non-binary, cross-dressing or intersex.

Resources

CIVITAS – Policing Hate: Have we abandoned freedom and equality?
This report can be used to help answer some of the questions in the consultations. Part 1 describes recent examples of the impact of hate crime legislation on people/groups such as Harry Miller, Safe Schools Alliance and Posie Parker. Part 2 is a detailed analysis of the Law Commission Consultation Paper with a focus on two points in particular: the notion of equality before the law and the challenge to free expression. See also section on Hate Crime Entrepreneurs.

Nordic Model Now! Response to the Law Commission’s hate crime consultation
The NMN response focuses on specific areas of the Summary version of the consultation, but their answers can help guide either the full or summary versions of responses. One of the areas of concern is the proposal to extend the hate crime legislation to cover “sex workers” as a protected characteristic.

MBM Briefing for Stage 1 debate: Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
Although written for the Scottish Hate Crime Bill, this report might be useful in formulating some answers as it focuses on two areas: the exclusion of sex from the hate crime protected characteristics, and aspects of the extension of the offence of stirring up hatred.

MBM Protecting Speech that Offends: Theory and Practice
Analysis of the cases of Kate Scottow, Miranda Yardley, Harry Miller and Maria MacLachlan to demonstrate how the legal system fails to protect free speech in practice.

MBM The limits of precedent and the special case of racial hatred
Analysis of why ‘stirring up hatred’ in the context of race should remain unique and not be expanded wholesale to other protected characteristics.

MBM Supplementary evidence on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
Some examples of free speech potentially being framed as ‘stirring up hatred’ in the context of women’s rights and disagreements against transgender ideology.

People must have the ‘right to offend’ without facing a police investigation
The Telegraph – 17/12/2020

Cancel Culture Claims Gender Critical Reddit Forum
Women are Human – 03/07/2020

Why I Am Permanently Banned From Twitter And Why This Should Make You Worry
Miranda Yardley – 24/05/2018

Further resources and useful examples for submission can be found at the blog post for the Scottish Hate Crime Bill.

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Equally Safe: Consultation on Prostitution (Scotland)

The Scottish Government held a consultation on prostitution called Equally Safe. This closed on 10 December 2020.

The Nordic Model Now! campaign group provided a simple two-step method to respond to the consultation using a template.

  • The Cross-Party Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation provided guidance in tackling the questions related to demand.
  • Nordic Model Now! published guidance on responding to all nine questions in the consultation.
  • Women’s Support Project provided briefing notes.

Resources

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