Reform of Gender Recognition Act Scotland

[EuphorbiaHemlockthe1st]

This is online and responses can be made until March 2020.
www.gov.scot/publications/gender-recognition-reform-scotland-bill-consultation-scottish-government/pages/3/
I have only just started reading and It will take me a while to get through it, they do seem to be trying to be balanced. I'm not used to reading official documents.

I am only on page 3 so far - I had assumed all western countries apart from us had accepted this bill and passed it therefore allowing self id.
However to gender change in Finland they must submit a medical statement confirming they have been sterilised or are otherwise infertile and need the consent of their spouse or partner. (Wow ! maybe it's the large female contingent in the parliament that resulted in this!)

In British Columbia and Manitoba in Canada under 18s need parents consent, I'm not sure the rest of Canada has declared yet.

Australia - they need a statement from a doctor. This must confirm either that that applicant has had 'appropriate clinical treatment' for the alteration of their sex or that the applicant is an intersex person

I'm just a bit stunned as I'd got the impression the UK was the outsider and everyone else was all for self id with minimal intervention???

www.gov.scot/publications/gender-recognition-reform-scotland-bill-consultation-scottish-government/pages/3/

first page - redacted by MN as link wasn't working and also revealed name of poster /Downloads/gender-recognition-reform-scotland-bill-consultation-scottish-government.pdf]]

I am away for a few days and may not be able to respond to comments for a while.

Bump.

C’mon people. In Scotland or adjacent. It’ll impact us all.

I fully intend to respond.

Links to other threads on this.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3788251-Scottish-GRA-consultation

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3769789-Scottish-GRA-draft-legislation

There's lots of useful information in the other threads.

I'm just a bit stunned as I'd got the impression the UK was the outsider and everyone else was all for self id with minimal intervention???

Only a few countries have opted for self ID, including Canada, Ireland, Malta, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Many countries do not allow anyone to legally change sex, though most in Europe do. The vast majority require a medical diagnosis of some sort.

The most recent relevant ruling from the European Court of Human Rights was to the effect that countries where sex change was possible should not require sterilisation as a requirement to change your legal sex.

So the current UK laws would generally be considered to be “best practice” already. The suggestion that current best practice is represented by those who have rushed into self-ID, often with inadequate consideration for the effect on women’s rights, is misguided at best.

The most recent relevant ruling from the European Court of Human Rights was to the effect that countries where sex change was possible should not require sterilisation as a requirement to change your legal sex.

Was that this case: A.P., GARÇON AND NICOT v. FRANCE?

The court also found that article 8 had not been breached by a requirement of a diagnosis of gender identity disorder:

the Court considers that the French authorities, in refusing the second applicant’s request to have the indication of gender on his birth certificate amended, on the grounds that he had not shown that he actually suffered from a gender identity disorder, struck a fair balance between the competing interests at stake.

Paragraphs 141-144 in the above document. This never seems to be mentioned for some reason.

So the current UK laws would generally be considered to be “best practice” already. The suggestion that current best practice is represented by those who have rushed into self-ID, often with inadequate consideration for the effect on women’s rights, is misguided at best.

And the Yogyakarta Principles are usually mentioned to support what they say is 'best practice', when it is simply a wish-list put together by a bunch of activists.

And the Yogyakarta Principles are usually mentioned to support what they say is 'best practice', when it is simply a wish-list put together by a bunch of activists.

Exactly.

And yes, that case. Also thank you; I will add your addendum to my ever increasing useful-legal-bullet-points-to-raise-on-Twitter arsenal!