Scotland was once a world leader in promoting equality and inclusion – not anymore!
The UK supreme court has ruled that the legal definition of a woman is now based on biological sex. This puts trans, non-binary ,and intersex people at serious risk of being excluded from public life. Trans woman are no longer legally defined as woman and may be subject to exclusion from female only spaces as a direct result. Non-binary and intersex people meanwhile are now left in legal purgatory as neither fit the new definition. What a mess!
All woman are woman. Removing trans women from the legal definition of a woman is both deeply discriminatory and dehumanising. In effect it implies trans women are not really women. Instead it implies they are men. Only they are not men – they are women. In my opinion there is a lot more to being a woman than a persons biology and reproductive organs. To reduce women in this way is deeply misogynistic. It robs women of their agency (the right to chose how to present themselves), live authentically and their bodily autonomy. For decades women’s right campaigners fought against being defined by their genitals. Now the supreme court has ruled that they must be defined in that manner.
As a trans woman I was deeply distraught to learn about the ruling. It now means the highest court in the UK no longer recognises me as woman. It really hurt to hear that I’m now legally viewed in such a way. Of course, Women’s rights will not benefit from the revised definition. It does nothing to stop women being abused by men. Most abuse against women occurs in the form of domestic violence. Something that won’t be addressed by this revisal. It will however hurt trans women and those who don’t confirm to the womanly stereotype.
So yes! Scotland and the rest of the UK have regressed on human rights this week. First Minister, John Swinney told reporters that “The Scottish Government accepts today’s [16th of April] Supreme Court judgement. The ruling gives clarity between two relevant pieces of legislation passed at Westminster.”
My heart sank hearing this. Only a few years ago the Scottish Parliament was fighting to reform the process to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). It would have made it easier for trans women and trans men to obtain one through a simplified and more humane process. Now the Parliament looks set to abandon that and trans people’s rights altogether.
What happened to Scotland being a proud, progressive nation that would fight hard to protect the rights and freedoms of its people?
Scotland is selling out to malicious hate groups like For Women Scotland. Groups funded by spiteful billionaires with an axe to grind. Both Scotland and the rest of the UK are very quickly becoming a vassal state of the US. Losing all sense of their identities and humanity in the process. I no longer recognise Scotland or the UK as a safe place for me to live in. No longer do I feel any pride in being Scottish. A truly sad reflection indeed.
I really wish they would stop appeasing the gender critical (GC). The GC do not speak for the majority of women. Most women see trans woman as woman and not a threat in anyway to their safety. The GC spread hate, fear and lies about trans people because they can’t accept trans women as women. We see them go to extreme lengths to single out and persecute a minority that makes up only around 0.5% of the UK population.
This is not what we want or need. I want the Scottish Parliament to not kowtow to the hateful GC. I want them to recognise me as the woman I am. I want them to fight for my right to exist in what should be a fair and equal society.
By Sophie Molly
