Category: Gender recognition
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Gender Recognition, ECHR compliance and the Scottish Human Rights Commission
The Scottish Parliament cannot legislate in contravention of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). At the time the Gender Recognition Act 2004 was passed, it was viewed as...
17th April 2023
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MBM statement on the Scottish Government decision to seek judicial review of the Section 35 order blocking the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill
Last week, in a widely publicised intervention, the EHRC advised that it would be helpful to amend the Equality Act to make clear that “sex” means “biological sex”. The...
12th April 2023
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Defining “sex” in Scotland: how the recent EHRC letter relates to Scottish legal analysis and politics
On 4 April, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) responded to a request for advice from the UK Government’s Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch MP, on...
10th April 2023
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Hard to reach or hard to hear? The price of finding women who count
In 2016, the Scottish Government committed to establish a First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG), ‘to help drive forward action to tackle gender inequality’. The...
4th April 2023
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The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill: where now?
A report yesterday attributed this position to the Leader of Scottish Labour, on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill: Mr Sarwar earlier suggested to journalists that the Section 35...
19th February 2023
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Lucy Hunter Blackburn: Speech to Forth Valley Feminists’ Women’s Festival, 4 February 2023
Women and the Scottish Parliament: what the Gender Recognition Reform Bill taught us So first of all thank you for inviting me to speak on behalf of the three...
6th February 2023
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The limits of the second Lord Falconer thread
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...
25th January 2023
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Comparing consultations on gender recognition reform and the impact on the operation of the Equality Act: who asked, who listened?
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...
24th January 2023
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The limits of the Lord Falconer thread
On the afternoon of Tuesday 17 January, the UK Government published its “Statement of Reasons for making an order under s35 of the Scotland Act 1998“, preventing the Gender...
20th January 2023
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Guest blog: gender recognition, safeguarding, and the limitations of the Martin amendment
MBM introduction At Stage 3 of the Gender Recognition Reform Scotland Bill, MSPs supported an amendment proposed by SNP MSP Gillian Martin, which requires the Chief Constable to notify...
17th January 2023