Tagged: Gender Identity

Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021 (Scotland)

Posted on April 2, 2024 by - Uncategorised

On Friday 22nd March Dr Jane Hamlin, President Emerita of the Beaumont Society, appeared on the BBC Radio 4 programme AntiSocial which was broadcast live at from 12:04 until 12:56. It is now available as a podcast on BBC Sounds. The topic was Misgendering and Hate Crime because on 1st April a law which was given the Royal Assent nearly three years ago came into effect. The law is the Hate Crime and Public Order Act (Scotland) 2021. You can listen to the programme here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001xfw6

Essentially the new law (in Scotland) establishes that a person commits an offence if they behave in a manner that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening, abusive or insulting, or stirs up hatred against a group of persons based on the group being defined by age, disability, religion race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), or ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, transgender identity, or variations in sex characteristics (previously known as intersex). Details of the Act can be read here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/14/contents

The Beaumont Society believes that is astonishing that there are people in the UK who clearly think that it is contrary to their human rights to be prevented from stirring up hatred against trans people, and fully supports the new legislation. The Beaumont Society also hopes that the Scottish Parliament will make haste in presenting a further Act that will outlaw offences of misogyny.

The UK Government intends to block the Scottish GRR Bill

Posted on January 17, 2023 by - Uncategorised

The Beaumont Society is most disappointed at the UK Government’s decision to block the Scottish Parliament’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill. The GRR Bill does not affect equalities legislation as opponents of the Bill have claimed. Trans people do not need a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) to be protected by the Equality Act (2010). A GRC entitles an individual to have a birth certificate, a marriage certificate (if they are married) and, eventually, a death certificate in their acquired gender. Nothing else. When the Gender Recognition Act was first introduced in 2004, it could affect retirements ages and pensions, but these are now the same for men and women, so nothing else is affected. Unfortunately, the vocal opponents of these reforms are confusing the GRR Bill with the Equality Act, which it would seem that they wish to reform into an Inequality Act. 

As Helen Belcher has pointed out, it is likely that this situation will “generate a case brought by the Scottish Government/Parliament, which will cost the taxpayer money. The UK Government is likely to lose the case as there is no basis for their decision.” Whether this is just to annoy the Scots and give trans people a kicking, or a ‘dead cat’ strategy to distract attention from their other failings, we do not know.

We had hoped that the Scottish reforms to the GRA would nudge the UK Government to follow the examples of countries like Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Luxemburg, Malta, Iceland, Spain and Germany which have already introduced self-declaration for gender identity. Argentina has had self-declaration of gender for over ten years with no significant issues. What is particularly upsetting is that nervous cis women are being frightened into changing their everyday behaviour because of the scaremongering misinformation spread by the gender critical movement – not because of the actions of trans people.

If you would like to know more about the issues involved, please email: enquiries@beaumontsociety.org.uk

The UK Government has threatened to block the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill

Posted on January 8, 2023 by - Uncategorised

Just before Christmas 2022, the Scottish Parliament, after much consultation and debate passed the Gender Recognition Reform Bill. However reports circulating that the UK Government plans to block the Bill becoming an Act.

The Scottish Government had an overwhelming mandate to reform the Gender Recognition Act. The reforms are one of the most consulted on in the Scottish Parliament’s history, and the new law was passed by a resounding cross-party majority, with support from MSPs in all parties. The Bill has been subject to extensive, appropriate scrutiny that has closely considered safeguards and interaction with UK-wide legislation, with almost 150 amendments debated and voted on. In May of 2022, the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee undertook ten weeks of detailed evidence hearings on the proposals, hearing from a wide range of witnesses both supporting and opposed to the reforms. The UK Government has had more than six years to engage constructively with the Scottish Government over the proposals. For the UK Government to seek to block implementation of this Act would be disastrous for trans people, who deserve far better from their government.

It would also profoundly undermine relationships with the Scottish Govt and damage the UK’s international reputation as a rights respecting nation.   It will be yet another example of hampering progress on LGBTQ+ rights and undermine the Prime Minister’s pledge to govern with compassion. The UK Government already recognises equivalent birth certificates from all EU/EEA countries, including countries which have a de-medicalised model of legal gender recognition. To refuse to recognise Scottish certificates would be a mistake, fly in the face of international best practice and come across as spiteful.   We hope this is the not the approach the Prime Minister wishes for the UK Government to take.

Trans rights are human rights – no more, no less. They do not diminish the rights of any other group e.g. women. Unfortunately gender critical people have been spreading misinformation about these reforms and engaging in scaremongering. All these reforms do is enable trans people to marry and die in the gender with which they identify.

Scottish Gender Recognition Bill

Posted on December 17, 2022 by - Uncategorised

The final vote on the Gender Recognition Bill will take place on Wednesday 21st December.

The United Nations expert on gender identity calls on the Scottish Parliament to adopt the proposed reforms. You can read about is here:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/12/un-expert-gender-identity-calls-scottish-parliament-adopt-gender-recognition

Britons and Gender Identity – New report

Posted on June 18, 2022 by - News

Based on polling of more than 5,000 people and 20 focus groups, a new report finds that the divisive debate playing out in Westminster and social media is out of sync with the public’s approach to the issue – with only 2 percent thinking ‘the debate about transgender people’ is one of the most important issues facing the country.

Instead of angry debates and Twitter pile ons, the public want a ‘live and let live’ approach to trans people and case-by-case solutions not blanket policies. Most are aware of the issues involved, a quarter know someone who is transgender, and for most the starting points are compassion and common sense. More agree (46%) than disagree (32%) that a trans man is a man and a trans woman is a woman.  You can read the full report here: britons-and-gender-identity-navigating-common-ground-and-division-june-2022

 

Being trans does not need to be cured – transphobia does!

Posted on April 2, 2022 by - News

On Thursday 31st March – International Day of Trans Visibility, of all days – the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom announced that the government’s plans for  the long-awaited ban on “conversion therapies” for LGBT+ people were to be scrapped. After an outcry from MPs and members of the public, there was a partial U-turn that left trans people unprotected. Conversion therapies are any interventions that that try to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity through, for example, pseudo-scientific counselling sessions, prayers and exorcisms. Whatever the practitioners and supporters of these activities call it, it is abuse! It should have been made illegal in this and every country many years ago.

We know that some anti-trans groups have been spreading fear and misinformation for years. They express false concern that if these hideous practices were to be made illegal the medical profession would be prevented from working with their trans clients. According to The Guardian (02.04.22, p7) “Nikki da Costa, a former director of legislative affairs at No 10, told the BBC that a ban would have ‘profound consequences for children struggling with gender dysphoria. It would create a situation where doctors, therapists, even parents would be deterred from exploring with a child any feelings of what else may be going on for fear of being told they’re trying to change a child’s identity. And that is deeply concerning.'”

This is total nonsense. What the law would have banned is any practice that only has one outcome, for example telling someone that they must be cis-gendered. Why are trans people being left unprotected? We need parliament to act to ban the odious and cruel practices that leave too many trans people scarred for life. It is hard being trans. No-one chooses to be trans. It is how we are born. It is who we are. When will those in power understand and respect that?