Criminal justice
We have published an extensive body of research and analysis on women and the criminal justice system, which can be accessed below. We have also engaged with a range of stakeholders, including the Scottish Prison Service, Police Scotland, Scottish Police Authority, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, the Scottish Parliament Justice Committe and Public Petitions Committee, and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).
Our work includes research on the loss of robust data on sex in the criminal justice system, Police Scotland workplace policies, and the influence of lobby groups advocating against the recognition of sex in law and policy. In relation to prisons, we have published academic papers and briefings on the Scottish Prison Service Gender Identity policy and shown how the policy-making process failed to consider the needs of female prisoners or staff. We have also produced an extensive body of analysis on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act and its likely chilling effects in respect of women’s rights. Our petition to the Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee on the accurate recording of sex in cases of rape and attempted rape, and our supporting evidence and analysis can also be accessed here.
Latest updates and analysis
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Correspondence with the Scottish Police Authority regarding Police Scotland LGBT Allies Toolkit
In October we published an article about the Police Scotland LGBT Allies Toolkit. The article questioned how a scheme that asks officers to ‘evangelise their allyship’ to certain groups...
28th November 2023
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Giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee
We have been asked to give oral evidence to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee about our petition on accurately recording the sex of those charged or convicted...
22nd November 2023
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A perfect storm? Police cuts and hate crime
It was recently reported that in response to severe financial pressure Police Scotland is looking to cut 600 officers and 200 staff in the year ahead. The force is...
30th October 2023
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MBM letter to the Scottish Human Rights Commission
It is almost five years since the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) stated that it intended to review its 2014 Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment Policy. This means that the...
24th October 2023
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‘Evangelise your allyship’: police impartiality and the Police Scotland LGBT Allies Toolkit
On 1 June 2023 Police Scotland posted the following tweet: We submitted a Freedom of Information request for a copy of the Police Scotland LGBT Allies Toolkit, pictured in...
20th October 2023
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Recorded police warnings: the need for transparency and accountability
On 23 July 2023 at a public rally organised by the grassroots feminist group Women Won’t Wheesht, a transactivist punched a 54-year old woman, Julie Marshall. The assault resulted...
10th September 2023
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Changing the prison rules
In 2014, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) published its Gender Identity and Gender Reassignment policy, allowing prisoners to be accommodated and searched on the basis of self-declared gender identity....
29th June 2023