This note provides a further update on our petition. We comment on recent responses to the Committee, submitted by Police Scotland, the Scottish Government, the Crown Office and Prosecution Service (COPFS). We also comment on the Bryson case, and its implications…
Read More MBM note to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee. 6 March 2023
The SPS urgent case review is not drafted for clarity. Careful reading shows that the SPS still believe that there are some male prisoners whose sex should not automatically be treated as a relevant factor, when assessing their risk to…
Read More MBM statement on the Scottish Prison Service urgent case review
"One of the first times I spoke in public on women's rights was in June 2019, on this subject - what was happening in prisons in Scotland. I said then "I’ll start by making a general point, which is that…
In December 2022, the Scottish Parliament's Finance and Public Administration Committee launched an inquiry into effective decision-making by the Scottish Government. More detail on the inquiry can be found here. Our submission to the Committee is shown below. 1. What…
In the end, the only risk the SPS seems to be concerned about, was the risk to themselves. A guest blog by Dr Alessandra Asteriti Dr Alessandra Asteriti has an LLM and a PhD in international law from the University…
The recent controversy over the placement of trans identified male prisoners in female prisons has thrown into sharp relief how, for the best part of a decade, the Scottish Prison Service and Scottish Government have side-lined the needs and interests…
Read More MBM response to the Justice Secretary statement on protecting prisoners
This blog looks at the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) undertaken by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) as part of developing its Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment policy. Background The SPS website lists all equality impact assessments (EQIA) they have carried…
Read More The SPS Equality Impact Assessment on its trans prisoner policy
In light of the recent Graham/Bryson case, this blog updates the position on our petition calling on the Scottish Parliament: to urge the Scottish Government to require Police Scotland, the Crown Office and the Scottish Court Service to accurately record…
Lord Falconer has already published one thread on the decision by the UK Government to issue a Section 35 order to prevent the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Act proceeding to Royal Assent. It gained substantial attention. Our analysis is here.…
The attached briefing note compares how consultations on gender recognition reform by the Scottish Government (in 2017 and 2019) and the UK government (in 2018) dealt with the interaction between the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010.…
