Gender Recogntion Reform (Scotland) Bill - Stage One

This afternoon (Thursday 27th October) The Scottish Parliament will debate the Gender Recogntion Reform (Scotland) Bill at Stage One following a lengthy process of evidence gathering by the Parliament's Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice committee - which gavie its majority backing to the Bill.

Ahead of the debate Amnesty and JustRight Scotland sent the below briefing to MSPs urging them to vote for this legislation, which will make sensible changes to the process of obtaining legal gender recognition and move Scotland closer towards being a place where trans people can live true to themselves. The current UK wide system for obtaining legal gender recognition does not meet international human rights standards, violates the rights of trans people, and places unnecessary barriers in obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). International best practice and human rights standards including those set out by the World Health Organisation, Yogyakarta Principles, and the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity advocate for a self-declaratory process as set out in the Bill. 

We support Scotland passing this legislation and joining a number of other countries by moving to a self-declaratory process which adheres to human rights standards. For more information on how the current Gender Recognition Act impacts the lives of trans people we would recommend reading this briefing from Scottish Trans.