UK attorney general may challenge SNP gender reform act
Fears for public institutions facing ‘unworkable’ system
THE SNP’s proposed laws on gender reform could be subject to challenge by Westminster because of their ‘incredibly serious implications’ the attorney general has said.
Suella Braverman questioned whether the Scottish Government plans to allow people as young as 16 to change gender without a medical diagnosis is ‘workable’ and said she is examining ‘constitutional issues’ around the policy.
Mrs Braverman, the MP for Fareham in Hampshire, argued that the plan ‘causes a huge amount of uncertainty’ about how trans people are recognised in law and may cause crossBorder issues.
Currently, trans people seeking to acquire an official gender recognition certificate must have been given a formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
However, a Holyrood inquiry into the proposed changes had heard how many people face a backlog of years to get a diagnosis – prompting ministers to table the Gender Recognition Act in an attempt to make the process easier.
But the proposed legislation has proven to be highly contentious, with opponents raising concerns surrounding issues such as women’s rights, how female-only prisons would operate and what impact the change would have on competitive sports drug testing, as well as the effect on data collection.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph yesterday, Mrs Braverman said that the removal of medical involvement would create a ‘two-tier system’ – making it easier for people to self-identify as a different gender to the sex they were assigned at birth in Scotland than it would be in England.
She added that there was a possibility the Scottish gender recognition certificates (GRCs) ‘might not be recognised’ elsewhere in the UK.
She said: ‘I think there are incredibly serious implications of what the Scottish Government is proposing, and I will be considering whether there are constitutional issues.
‘Effectively the Scottish parliament, if this is enacted, will be approving a form of self-identification. And we will have a twotier system within the UK.
‘I can’t foresee how that is workable, whereby north of the Border, you may be able to self-identify, but a bit south of the Border that might not be recognised.
‘What effects does that have on our public institutions, our state? It is incredibly worrying and causes a huge amount of uncertainty.’
Trina Budge, of the For Women Scotland campaign group, said: ‘When the Gender Recognition Act was first enacted in 2004, it was UK-wide as it was recognised having different systems across the UK was extremely problematic.
‘These issues have not gone away and Ms Braverman is quite right to address the UK implications of reform in Scotland, which is more than the Scottish Government is doing.
‘No one seems to know if certificates issued in Scotland will be recognised in England and questions remain unanswered around the impact in English prisons and classrooms if those Scottish-born but resident in England can obtain a GRC based on self-declaration.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We are committed to reforming the gender recognition process and have always been keen to seek consensus where possible and to work to support respectful debate.’
Mrs Braverman has previously insisted that the ‘protection of single-sex spaces is extremely important’ and expressed concern about the lowering of the age limit from 18 to 16.
She told the House of Commons last year: ‘We must ensure that transgender adults are free to live their lives as they wish without fear of persecution whilst maintaining checks and balances in the system.’
Under the legal overhaul, trans people would be able simply to self-declare their gender, rather than having to undergo medical assessments.
The length of time required for them to live as a male or female before legal recognition would also be slashed from two years to three months.
‘Huge amount of uncertainty’ ‘Extremely problematic’