Scots to review transgender rape policy

A POLICE policy in which rapists will be officially recorded as being women if they “identify as female” is to be reviewed after the “Orwellian” stance was widely criticised.

Police Scotland drew anger in December when it said it would record the sex of criminals in line with how they “present or self-declare”, even in cases of rape, in which male genetalia is involved in the offence.

The force has previously defended the policy, claiming it was “consistent with its values” and said that any concerns were “hypothetical” because the circumstances had never arisen.

However, the chairman of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), Martyn Evans, will tell a board meeting tomorrow that police are “rightly reviewing internal policies and recording procedures” around sex and gender. He will reveal that “a number of discussions” have taken place with Police Scotland and the Scottish Government about the matter over the past month. JK Rowling was among prominent figures to speak out against the Police Scotland policy, quoting George Orwell’s classic 1984 when addressing it in December.

She wrote on Twitter, “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman” alongside a link to an article about the policy.

Mr Evans said the SPA, which scrutinises Police Scotland, had been “clear that it expects Police Scotland to comply with all relevant legislation and professional guidance in relation to sex and gender data recording”. He added that he believed the force made “every effort” to do so.

Kenny Macaskill, the former SNP justice secretary who was in the post when Police Scotland and the SPA were established, said he “welcomed” the intervention and that he hoped the “insane” policy would now be dropped. A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Police Scotland continually reviews its policies and practices, particularly as government guidance and legislation develops and is introduced.”