A small group of trans rights advocates have accused the British government of “transphobia”. The reason is that the Executive has blocked legislation passed in Scotland to make it easier for people to self-identify as transgender without the need for a medical diagnosis. London says the regulations could affect equality laws that apply across Britain.
“They are lying when they say that it is about something other than transphobia. There is nothing in that law that annuls or damages the Equality Act as it is in the United Kingdom,” says an activist. Another believes that “seeing the UK Government intervene to stop Scotland from improving its gender recognition reform basically means that the UK Government is so committed to not letting trans rights improve within the country that they are willing to damage his reputation and his relationship with Scotland to do so.”
The British Executive is to use the powers of Section 35 to strike down a bill passed by the Scottish Parliament for the first time since the Edinburgh legislature was created in 1999. “We assessed that the bill would have a serious adverse impact, including other things, on the operation of the Equality Act 2010. Those adverse effects include impacts on the operation of single-sex clubs, associations and schools, and protections such as equal pay,” said Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland
Scottish Chief Minister Nicola Sturgeon has accused London of launching a “direct attack on the institution of the Scottish Parliament” and says the matter “will inevitably end up in the High Court.”
