Gender reform could put women at risk from sex predators, warns the UN
WOMEN could be put at risk from sexual predators and ‘other perpetrators of violence’ by the Scottish Government’s gender reforms, a United Nations expert has warned.
In a scathing attack, Reem Alsalem said the legislation would ‘potentially open the door for violent males’ to abuse the selfidentification process.
Ms Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, appealed to Nicola Sturgeon to allow ‘sufficient time to complete a thorough assessment of all foreseeable consequences’.
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill aims to make it easier for trans people to switch gender through self-identification.
It would lower the age limit for this from 18 to 16, remove the requirement for medical involvement and reduce the time a person must live in their preferred gender from two years to three months.
Last night Scottish Tory equalities spokesman Rachael Hamilton said: ‘This is just the latest criticism of the SNP’s deeply misguided
‘Women’s fears are well founded’
Rapporteur’s damning ‘Such intervention proposals would potentially open the door for violent males...this presents potential risks to the safety of women in all their diversity. The Scottish Government does not provide for any safeguarding
plans. From the very start of this debate, the SNP have told women and girls their valid concerns are imaginary and that these reforms will have no impact on their rights, safety or dignity. Yet this assessment from a UN expert proves women’s fears are well founded.’
Backed by the SNP-Green administration, the Lib Dems and some Labour MSPs, the legislation is opposed by feminist groups, who have received strong support from campaigners including writer JK Rowling.
In a letter to the UK Government, Ms Alsalem said ‘such proposals would potentially open the door for violent males’ to ‘abuse the process of acquiring a gender recognition certificate and the rights associated with it’.
She said: ‘This presents potential risks to the safety of women in all their diversity. The Scottish Government… does not provide for any safeguarding measures to ensure that the procedure is not, as far as can be reasonably assured, abused by sexual predators and other perpetrators of violence. These include access to both single-sex spaces and gender-based spaces.’
Ms Alsalem said evidence demonstrated the ‘majority of sex offenders are male and persistent sex offenders will go to great lengths to gain access to those they wish to abuse’. She said the consultation on the Bill had been insufficiently fair and inclusive.
She said though a Holyrood committee listened to trans women, she was concerned the same MSPs had told five survivors of male violence they ‘did not have time to see them and to put their objections in writing’.
Echoing criticism by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Ms Alsalem said the Equality Act 2010 permitted the provision of single-sex services, ‘excluding anyone born male, however they identify, as a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim’.
She said she had been made aware of ‘reports that indicate a failure to provide single-sex spaces to female survivors of male violence who, because of their experiences, do not feel able to access a trans inclusive service, leading to their self-exclusion from support and refuge services’.
She warned the Scottish Government it risked flouting the Equality Act if women from different religious backgrounds felt excluded by the consequences of the gender reforms. Last night, Marion Calder of For Women Scotland said: ‘For years we have been trying to warn ministers and thirdsector organisations that work in the violence against women and girls sector such as Rape Crisis Scotland and Scottish Women’s Aid of the risks associated with self-identification of sex.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We have always been clear that the Bill does not conflict with our continued strong commitment to uphold the rights and protections that women and girls currently have under the 2010 Equality Act and we have accepted an amendment to put that position beyond doubt.
‘There is overwhelming support for the principles of the Bill – which aligns with the stated position of the UN Human Rights Office that being trans is not an illness and trans people should be recognised legally “through a simple administrative process based on self-identification”.’