Court ruling allows trans people to self-identify in upcoming Scottish census
Transgender people in Scotland can now self-identify in the country’s census without a gender recognition certificate. The decision comes after the Fair Play for Women group filed a complaint against the inclusive question.
In their filing, the anti-trans organisation argued that the government was practising “unlawful conduct.” On 17 February, judge Lord Sandison announced that he dismissed the conservative complaint – which was 14 days after the initial court hearing. “In the modern age, where social change has meant that such issues are much more openly and widely discussed and debated, I would find it impossible to find that the word ‘sex’ in a statute enabling the general population to be asked questions for the wide and general purposes for which a census is conducted falls to be regarded as restricted in the sense for which the petitioner contends,” he explained. “Rather, I would accept the suggestion that biological sex, sex recognised by law, or self-identified (or ‘lived’) sex as at the date of the census are all capable of being comprehended within the word.” LGBTQ+ activists have since come out to praise the court and its decision.
Vic Valentine, the manager of Scottish Trans Alliance, welcomed the ruling in a statement. “We are pleased that Lord Sandison has held that the guidance produced to go alongside the census is lawful.
