How did we get to the Supreme Court ruling re women’s rights?

[Oopsisaidit]

Can anyone briefly Explain what led Scotland to women’s rights court case? I vaguely think that the SNP started it and the GRC was important, but if anyone can point me to a brief history, that would be great, thank you!
I am googling, but getting a bit tired of chest beating and confusingness
thank you!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Women_Scotland_Ltd_v_The_Scottish_Ministers

For a tiny percentage of the population trans people have been hogging the limelight and newspaper headlines for years. I'm sick to death of hearing about them.

I don’t see it as a tiny percentage of the population, as it centers transwomen. I see it as a majority of the population was fighting the injustice of not having legal recognition, as it centers women in the conversation.

This is probably the best summary -

https://forwomen.scot/03/08/2021/the-status-of-women-in-scotland-gender-representation-on-public-boards-act/

In terms of the GRR Bill, self id has been essentially the law of land even with the failure of the GRR Bill, the section 35 etc. Now it's been clarified that the Scottish Government have been acting against the law the whole time, the institutional capture will be rolled back.

Another good source -

https://murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/2024/11/19/briefing-note-for-women-scotland-vs-the-scottish-ministers-uk-supreme-court-26-27-november-2024/

Surely a lot of what happened in Scotland is linked to the need of the SNP for some time to have the support of the Green Party in the SP - what led the Green Party to be so in favour of self-ID is another matter

Thank you for all the very useful links contained within this thread. I've just read through them all again and it makes me feel very angry that people are criticising FWS for showing relief and joy at getting the Law clarified. What an incredible achievement - after knock-back after knock-back, And bloody hats off to Murray Blackburn Mackenzie for their outstanding work.

The Scottish Government have been manipulative, deceitful and should hang their heads in shame.

absolutely!
thank you so much for the links, I am astounded that any government could create such a situation.
and well done everyone who has been challenging this. you are all amazing.

Come over to the feminist board for lots more discussion

To me it’s not even about trans. It’s was about companies and organisations not recognising that biological women need single sex facilities in certain circumstances. Allowing men in that say they’re women (whether they’re genuine TW or just opportunist chancers) creates an injustice for girls and women. The ruling just upheld that.

Basically because the majority of MSP's are immature Social Justice Warriors with little or no real world experience

Remember this at the upcoming Holyrood elections. This shitshow, complete with Isla Bryson's tasteful pink leggings, was brought to you by the SNP. Who are still arguing that women should be represented on committees by men who think they are women.

oh, and just imagine the ££££ spent on all this, the Bill about Gender Recognition, all the guidance, all the rest of the jobs which have been created around this, and imagine what ELSE it could have been spent on. Because schools and hospitals are rolling in dosh, right?

It's such an utter waste isn't it? If only they had listened to women's voices.

It's just par for the course with the SNP. They just WILL NOT listen to reasonable objections. We have been down this road many times before with named person, DRS etc etc. it's a huge failure of the way the SNP operate.

Remember also that whilst the costs have been crowd funded from thousands of women, it was FWS that were liable for those costs. Those women have been risking having to pay hundreds of thousands in costs should the crowd funding fail and the case go against them.

In terms of the GRR Bill, self id has been essentially the law of land even with the failure of the GRR Bill, the section 35 etc.

But it has never been the law of the land. The fact that the SNP/Greens pushed it through the back door through by making funding dependent on it and putting out unlawful guidance doesn’t make it the law of the land; it just show the corruption of the Scottish government and their contempt for democracy. A theme continued by Maggie Chapman breaking the law by trying to undermine the judiciary and stir up activists against the Supreme Court. Actions which have not met any condemnation by government or the biased Green Presiding Officer. And they have the audacity to call others ‘far right facists’.

Indeed. And as to why - the Greens turned into absolute bampots quite some time ago. I used to admire what they stood for when they had sense but hasn't been the case for a number of years. And I’ll also say that I used to be a die-hard SNP supporter as well until they started with all the gender nonsense. Absolutely lost the last shred of my support when it became very clear that they were happy to throw women right under the bus, for men. Of course.

I thought it was implied but '(wrongly) the law of the land' was how i meant it.

Edited to add - Or perhaps 'in practice but not legally'

In essence, it was what was happening.

I did pick up your intention but thought it important to say it isn’t because it shows how rotten and corrupt things have become. The government are trying to rule through totalitarianism divorced from law, removing the rights of citizens to rely on law for our rights. Ms Chapmans outburst against the courts is just a rotten extension of the government imposing their will apart from the law. Remembering the chief prosecutor in Scotland is a member of the SNPs cabinet, and not so long ago they were talking about Parliament (aka the SNP) supervising the judiciary.

As above, they said transwomen were the same as women on a board for equality purposes. So they would technically be able to not have to hire a single bio woman

There was a call in Parliament yesterday, think maybe by a Conservative MSP, for the Gov only to award public funding to organisations who follow the law. Seems pretty reasonable request!

Remember that some of the SNP believe that the problem wasn’t that they didn’t listen, but that they allowed ‘too much’ debate…I agree, institutional cowardice is the horror this has showcased. To finally see Bridget Philippson say that rape centres need to have the right to sex based protections…but then the bbc journo constantly trying to bring it back to toilets.

@Oopsisaidit if your question is more ‘why did this happen in Scotland?’ then here’s my theory.

Countries and societies that have, in the past, been particularly repressive and conservative have gone completely over the top in the other direction recently. Cultures that previously shamed, judged and punished anyone who broke the social rules have, as soon as those rules were loosened, completely over-corrected. I grew up in Scotland in the 70s, 80s, 90s and now I don’t even recognise it. Friends who are my age (50s) are currently falling over themselves to be demonstrably non-judgemental and so open-minded that their brains appear to have fallen out, even otherwise intelligent women. It’s just mental. Ireland is similar. You don’t get much more socially repressive than Ireland, and look where they’ve gone. 🙄

ive lived in France for the last 17 years and while there have been similar proposals towards self ID etc, there’s nothing like the wholesale enthusiasm to ‘be kind’ and or adopt an ‘anything goes’ approach. Schools, for example, would never socially transition a child without the parents being involved. School toilets are strictly single sex. But French culture has never been as repressive or scared of sex in the same way as Scotland and Ireland have been.

I remember reading a book about becoming more assertive, and it warned of the danger of over-doing it to begin with, until you find the right balance between being assertive and agressive. Scotland is in the agressive phase. Lets hope that this is the correction.

SNP saw themselves as "progressive" the actual aspect as others have stated was on boards targets. But they pushed it in everything whilst trying to change the definition of woman under the equality act. The equality act was also why UK legislation blocked their self ID bill.

I think they underestimated the feeling of women who stayed silent in public (because they didnt want to be targeted/fired etc etc) but help fund the case.

I honestly don't care what anyone calls themselves but I do care about creating loop holes, guidance that says what they say goes on decision (turns out that's completely wrong) and causes distress to some of the most vulnerable women possible such as in prison, hospital wards and rape Centres.

And don’t forget that great feminist Nicola Sturgeon said women’s concerns were “not valid”.
How very progressive!