December 2021 – MurrayBlackburnMackenzie

Public attitudes to gender recognition reform: an overview

Posted by Kath Murrayon December 18, 2021January 12, 2022in Gender recognition

This blog places our recent polling results on public attitudes towards gender recognition reform in the context of other polling results on the same topic. Currently, to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate a person does need not have made any…

MBM briefing for MSPs (December 2021)

Posted by Lisa Mackenzieon December 16, 2021January 12, 2022in Newsletters

About us Established in late 2018, MurrayBlackburnMackenzie has undertaken extensive analysis of the adoption of gender self-identification principles in law and public policy in Scotland and across the UK. We have provided oral and written evidence to the UK and…

Polling shows being supportive of transgender self-expression is not the same as supporting self-declaration for legal gender recognition

Posted by Kath Murrayon December 14, 2021December 14, 2021in Gender recognition1 Comment

In September 2021 the Scottish Government set out a commitment to reform the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) to allow for a person to change their sex in law based on self-declaration, without medical gatekeeping, in its Programme for Government. We…

Reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004: options and opportunities

Posted by Kath Murrayon December 14, 2021January 13, 2022in Gender recognition1 Comment

The blog below sets out a range of options for reform of the Gender Recognition Act that meet the high level aims of several political parties, that is, to simplify the process and reduce its intrusiveness, particularly in relation to…

Q&A on the sex question guidance for the 2022 Scottish census

Posted by Lisa Mackenzieon December 5, 2021January 12, 2022in Census, Data collection

When is the next census in Scotland? The next census will take place in March 2022. In the rest of the UK, the census took place in March this year. Will the census ask for respondents’ sex? Yes, the sex…

MBM correspondence with the Scottish Government re. guidance for the sex question in the 2022 census (Oct/Nov 2021)

Posted by Lisa Mackenzieon December 5, 2021January 12, 2022in Census, Data collection, MBM correspondence

Our correspondence with the Scottish Government regarding the proposed guidance for the sex question in the 2022 census. MBM letter to the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Angus Robertson MSP (20 October 2021) https://murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/MBM-letter-on-census-guidance-20-October-2021.pdf Response from…

Back from the brink: how the Scottish Government was forced to concede it had conflated sex and gender identity in the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill

Posted by Kath Murrayon December 5, 2021December 5, 2021in Census, Data collection

In 2018 the Scottish Government brought forward legislation to add new voluntary questions on gender identity and sexual orientation to the next Scottish census. The Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 2 October 2018. As…