Presentation given to Woman's Place UK webinar on sex in the census on 18 October 2020.
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Back under the radar? A review of plans for the census
This blog looks at recent developments on the framing of the sex question in the next census. TimingThe UK census is undertaken by three separate census authorities: National Records of Scotland (NRS); the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which covers…
Read More Back under the radar? A review of plans for the census
Options for securing consensus on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
It has been hard to miss the reaction to the Scottish Government’s proposal in its hate crime bill to extend the crime of ‘stirring up hatred’ to a wider range of situations than now. Currently, “stirring up” offences apply only…
Read More Options for securing consensus on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
MurrayBlackburnMackenzie response to the UK Government GRA announcement
Today’s statement by Liz Truss brings much needed clarity on the UK Government’s proposals to reform the Gender Recognition Act. We have previously argued that a shift to a system of self-declaration, without the requirement for a diagnosis of gender…
Read More MurrayBlackburnMackenzie response to the UK Government GRA announcement
The Scottish Parliament’s bill process and the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
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
The limits of precedent and the special case of racial hatred
In response to a recent parliamentary question by Labour MSP James Kelly on the proposed stirring up hatred offences in the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, and whether these should be fully deleted or heavily amended, the First…
Read More The limits of precedent and the special case of racial hatred
Submission on the operation of the Lobbying Act 2016
The Scottish Parliament's Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee is currently undertaking post-legislative scrutiny on the operation of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016. Our submission can be found here: MBM submission on Lobbying Act August 2020-converted.
Should ‘Variations in Sex Characteristics’ be included in the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill?
The Hate Crime and Public Order Bill provides for ‘Variations in Sex Characteristics’ (VSCs) as a standalone protected characteristic. This represents a change from the Offences (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009, which currently classifies ‘intersexuality’ under ‘transgender identity’. The…
Defining transgender identity in the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill and beyond
This blog looks at how the characteristic ‘transgender identity’ is defined in the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill, and in public policy more widely. We argue that a failure to clarify what is meant by this term is likely…
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Statement about Edinburgh University Press and our Scottish Affairs article
This time last year, our article 'Losing sight of women's rights: the unregulated introduction of gender self-identification as a case study of policy capture in Scotland' was published in the journal Scottish Affairs. A couple of months prior to publication,…
Read More Statement about Edinburgh University Press and our Scottish Affairs article
