We have written to the Secretary of State for Scotland asking the UK government to take whatever action it believes it needs to, to ensure that protections for women and girls in Scotland provided under UK law and international human…
Read More Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill: Use of Scotland Act Powers
Stage 3 of the GRR(S) Bill is scheduled for Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st December. The parliamentary website for the Bill at Stage 3 is here. The full detailed guidance on rules for Stage 3 of a Bill are available…
Read More Stage 3 of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill: background and resources
Yesterday we joined 28 other individuals and organisations, including many with backgrounds in campaigning on women’s rights and delivering services for women who have experienced male violence, in writing to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Reem Alsalem,…
Read More Letter to Shona Robison on women’s ability to set boundaries based on sex
Yesterday, 4 October 2022, Lucy gave a presentation at an online seminar held by Woman's Place UK, A Woman's Place Is Working, on the importance of resolving the relationship between the Equality Act 2010 and the Gender Recognition Act 2004,…
On Tuesday 21 June 2022, the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee will take evidence from Dr Chris Dietz of the University of Leeds, whose research addresses the regulation of gender, with a specific focus upon how gender recognition…
Our newsletter for April 2022 is available here.
This blog summarises why the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill needs to provide clearer protection for freedom of expression than is currently proposed by the Scottish Government. Some commentators have suggested that the Bill will criminalise making basic…
Read More The thin blue line: What inadequate protection for freedom of expression means in practice
Our response to the Justice Committee's emergency consultation on freedom of expression in Bill is provided below. A PDF version of the briefing can be downloaded here. The Issue Our concern is whether the law will provide a clear point…
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill extends the existing offence of "stirring up hatred" in relation to race, to a wider range of characteristics. As described here, the Justice Committee agreed with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice on…
This blog may be accessed as a briefing here The omission of ‘sex’ as a protected characteristic is a key area of contention in the proposed Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, which is currently making its way through…
Read More Legislating for hatred against women: the view from the coalface
