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 the Scottish Parliament. Giving evidence to the Justice Committee…
Read More Legislating for hatred against women: the view from the coalface
We have submitted supplementary evidence to the Justice Committee in the light of (a) an open letter currently circulating which has been signed by a number of parliamentarians and others (b) the Cabinet Secretary’s comments at the Justice Committee hearing…
Read More Supplementary evidence on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
Discussing the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill at the Justice Committee on 24 November, the Cabinet Secretary Humza Yousaf argued that he did not think a person would be committing a criminal offence in stating that sex is…
Read More The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill: a reassurance that does not reassure
This is a post setting out how the Scottish Parliament handles government bills, and what that means for the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill. A Bill is the draft form of an act of parliament. An Act of…
Read More The Scottish Parliament’s bill process and the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
On what now seems like a lifetime ago, 9 March, we met officials from the Scottish Government to discuss the consultation on the draft Gender Recognition Reform Bill. Our meeting was with a senior official responsible for this area and…
Read More GRA Reform: Meeting with Scottish Government officials 9 March 2020
We have submitted our response to the Scottish Government's consultation on on GRA reform. Our full consultation response is here, and the key points are summarised below. IntroductionSome people who wish to change their legal sex report that the current application…
Read More Our response to the Scottish GRA reform consultation
This blog looks at the potential UK wide effects of gender recognition reform in Scotland. Although the Scottish Government's consultation paper does not include a specific discussion of the cross-border implications, the provisions in the draft Bill suggest that a…
This post brings together material relating to Losing Sight of Women’s Rights: the unregulated introduction of gender self-identification as a case study of policy capture in Scotland, available here (open access) in Scottish Affairs Vol 28 (3). Authors’ statement We share the view of…
Read More Losing Sight of Women’s Rights: article for Scottish Affairs
The Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill will set an important precedent for how sex (biological or legal) is understood as a policy and legal category in Scotland, and carries significant implications for the future operation of the Equality Act 2010 (see…
This note reflects on the arguments put forward during Stage 1 of the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill and the choices facing the Committee at this stage. [Numbers in brackets refer to notes at the end.] Background The Bill has been…
Read More Where next for the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill?
