By Vic Valentine
Scottish Trans Policy Officer
Trans people and our allies were undoubtedly disappointed when the Scottish Government announcement on Gender Recognition Act reform stated that there would be further consultation on a draft bill.
This is not because we don’t think careful consideration of this issue is important. It is because of what has happened in the 16 months between the original consultation closing and this announcement.
We have seen a massive increase in hostility towards trans people, and conversations that seem to indicate that a vocal minority are much more concerned with trying to reduce our existing rights and social acceptance, rather than constructive dialogue about gender recognition reform.
Read more: Trans Scots suffering abuse in wake of GRA debate
It is our sincere hope that as with the Equal Marriage legislation, this consultation focuses on the technicalities. There will be plenty of areas up for discussion: how long should a trans person have been living in their gender before they are eligible to apply? Is a period of reflection a useful safeguard? Should applications be limited to over 18s? We don’t believe anyone should be deemed as transphobic for expressing differing views to our own on such issues.
But it is understandable that many fear some people will use this second consultation to oppose trans equality more broadly. The last 20 years has seen our rights improved based on two key principles: that how the government and services treat trans people must reflect our lived identity, not the bodies we were born with, and that trans people deserve adequate privacy about our gender history. Newly championed calls to insist we must disclose our biological sex at birth in all circumstances totally undermine existing UK law, and the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.
Read more: Scottish Government accused of 'pandering to bigots' over GRA delays
Trans people are not being unreasonable in objecting to such attempts to roll-back our existing rights. Being trans does not make someone delusional, a paedophile, a homophobe or a misogynist and calling us those things is not reasonable debate.
At just 0.6% of the population, and with no trans MSPs or senior journalists, trans people feel powerless within a moral panic over our existence. Let’s please have a conversation about gender recognition reform, without attacking existing trans rights.
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