Scotland’s trans self-ID bill no risk for women, says U.N. expert
As Scotland decides whether to let transgender people change their legal gender without a medical diagnosis, a U.N. LGBTQ+ rights expert has rejected suggestions that the step could pose a threat to the safety of women and girls.
If the Scottish Parliament passes the Gender Recognition Reform Bill in a vote due on Wednesday, Scotland would join a number of other countries including Ireland, Norway and Argentina that have adopted self-ID laws to make the process of changing one’s birth certificate less medicalised and invasive.
Despite the growing acceptance of self-identification, some women’s rights campaigners have voiced concern that it could be used by predatory men to gain access to same-sex spaces such as bathrooms, changing rooms or women’s prisons.
In November, Reem Alsalem, the U.N. Special Rapporteur for Violence against Women and Girls, shared a letter detailing similar concerns in relation to the Scottish proposals. “This presents potential risks to the safety of women in all their diversity (including women born female, transwomen, and gender non-conforming women),” she wrote.
