What is 'international best practice' when it comes to GRA reform?

[MurrayBlackburnMackenzie]

We've just published a post that attempts to unpick what the Scottish Government means when it states that the basis for its proposals to reform the GRA from a medical gatekeeping model to self-ID is alignment with 'international best practice'. Hope it might be of interest:

murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/2019/10/13/gender-recognition-act-reform-international-best-practice/

Earlier this week, we also published 20 questions we believe the Scottish Government needs to answer about how a reformed GRA based on self-declaration will work in law, the evidence base for reform, and the Scottish Government position on the Equality Act 2010:

murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/2019/10/07/20-questions-on-gra-reform-and-gender-self-declaration/

We hope to perhaps set up a mailing list in due course but for now, you can keep up with our output via our Twitter account:

twitter.com/mbmpolicy

We are grateful for the support we've had from lots of Mumsnetters to date. Thank you!

Kath, Lucy and Lisa

Yes this needs calling out. International Best Practice makes it seems like something unquestionable that we Really Should Be Doing Too. When infact it is a pile of unendorsed wank that they are hoping to use to streamroll women's rights. Needs to be questioned specifically EVERY time it is cited as justification.

Brilliant. I'm so glad you're asking these questions.

No Twitter, but following so that I can hopefully see when you get a mailing list set up.

Really interesting thanks. I was particularly interested in this section. I love useful soundbites.

”In 2017 the ECtHR upheld the right of states to require a diagnosis of gender dysphoria as a condition of granting documentary or legal status change. The Scottish Government de facto position is therefore that the European Convention on Human Rights as recently interpreted falls below international best practice.”

This is a great post! Thank you for all this policy ready work you''re doing. It's so important.

One question: the WHO have announced the removal of "gender identity disorder" from its diagnostic manual and set a date of January 2022 for countries to follow.

How does this factor in?

placemarking to read later

Kath, Lucy & Lisa God, you're on fire!

I have a letter in front of me from Baroness Williams of Trafford, stating that 5,233 people have applied for a GRC. She doesn't say if those were all granted, I thought a fairly high percentage were rejected due to sexual motives, but maybe I got that wrong.

”In 2017 the ECtHR upheld the right of states to require a diagnosis of gender dysphoria as a condition of granting documentary or legal status change. The Scottish Government de facto position is therefore that the European Convention on Human Rights as recently interpreted falls below international best practice.”

BUT the WHO has now decided that gender dysphoria is no longer a mental health condition, so there is no longer a diagnosis to be made. The GRA will have to be amended to reflect this and the Courts will have to follow the WHO's decision.

Good one!

BUT the WHO has now decided that gender dysphoria is no longer a mental health condition, so there is no longer a diagnosis to be made.

It wasn't removed, it was only reclassified as a sexual health disorder, so can still be diagnosed.