Gender recognition
We have produced an extensive body of analysis on gender recognition reform in Scotland, including a detailed, evidence-based response to the 2019 Scottish Government consultation on its draft Bill. In 2022 we submitted a written response to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee call for views on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill and gave oral evidence in parliament.
We also met with Scottish Government officials and the relevant Minister to discuss the Bill, and raised concerns about the move to a self-declared system with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Scottish Human Rights Commission, and UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls.
Our written submissions, together with our wider body of analysis on gender self-identification laws and polices, are published on this page.
Latest updates and analysis
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Sex, suspects and secrecy: Police Scotland’s elastic approach to human rights
Introduction The recent arrest of 30-year-old Eve Shaw, a man previously known as Adam Shaw who identifies as a woman, has reignited the controversy around Police Scotland’s position on...
15th September 2026
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Amnesty International UK: Rights and Wrongs Part 2. A troublesome audit trail
Introduction This blog updates our previous post, which archived material associated with Amnesty International UK’s decision to publish a report (titled A Growing Threat) containing defamatory material about a...
23rd July 2026
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Putting violent men in women’s prisons: where was Scottish civil society?
Introduction This blog details our first attempt, via an academic article, to alert Scottish civil society to the Scottish Prison Service’s policy of placing some male prisoners in female...
9th July 2026
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MBM statement on FWS v The Scottish Ministers Judicial Review of Scottish Prison Service transgender prisoner policy
We welcome today’s ruling in the Outer House of the Court of Session that the Scottish Prison Service policy on transgender prisoners is unlawful. For over a decade the...
19th June 2026
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Losing focus: Women’s charities and the UK Supreme Court ruling
Women’s charities and the UK Supreme Court ruling Our latest report focuses on charities whose objects, as set out in their governing documents, state that they should benefit solely...
16th April 2026
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Why does the Scottish Prison Service hold men convicted of murder in the female prison estate? A policy timeline
Introduction On 3 and 4 February, the Scottish Government is heading to court to defend the Scottish Prison Service’s policy (2023) on the management of transgender prisoners. In a...
26th January 2026
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Appointment of new EHRC chair: revisited
Introduction The Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson MP, last week confirmed Dr Mary Ann Stephenson as the next Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)....
2nd August 2025