Scotland passes transgender self-indentification bill - DW (English)

Scotland's parliament passed connected Thursday a arguable measure that lowers the property for recognizing transgender radical from 18 to 16 and scraps a aesculapian certification requirement.

The caller measure would let anyone aged 18 oregon older to apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate without a aesculapian certification if they person lived successful their declared sex for 3 months, oregon six months if they are 16-18 years old.

Previously, applicants had to person identified arsenic said sex for 2 years minimum.

The measure besides gives applicants a three-month "reflection period" erstwhile they tin reconsider their decision.

The measure was passed by 86 votes, with 39 votes against it. Scotland is the archetypal United Kingdom portion to o.k. specified a bill, which exists successful countries specified arsenic Denmark, Argentina and Ireland.

Spain besides passed into instrumentality a measure granting akin rights connected the aforesaid day.

The Scottish authorities has yet to acceptable a day for the measure to instrumentality effect successful 2023. However, it could beryllium scrapped by London earlier that, wherever the Conservative Party ruling implicit the full United Kingdom has voiced preservation regarding the text.

Why is the measure controversial?

The British Conservative Party said connected Thursday it shared people's "concerns… regarding definite aspects of the bill", vowing to intimately analyse it. The enactment is disquieted the measure mightiness endanger the information of women and children.

The British government's Scotland minister, Alister Jack, was quoted by the Reuters quality bureau arsenic saying that the authorities could spell arsenic acold arsenic bid stopping the measure going for the Royal Assent if necessary.

Closer to location successful Scotland, immoderate women's rights defenders and blimpish legislators person argued that the measure allows antheral intersexual predators entree to female-only spaces.

Harry Potter writer JK Rowling is among the transgender bill's staunchest opponentsImage: AP

"While astir of america astir Scotland are good, decent, tenable people, rapists are not, enactment offenders are not," the French AFP quality bureau quoted Conservative lawmaker Rachael Hamilton arsenic saying. "It is ignorant to the utmost to judge they volition not instrumentality vantage of loopholes that are ripe for exploitation."

Another staunch hostile of the measure is Harry Potter writer JK Rowling, whose arguable 2020 effort connected sex individuality earned her transphobic accusations and societal media attacks.

How has the Scottish authorities defended the bill?

The arguable measure outgo Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon important opposition. She described the erstwhile way to becoming transgender arsenic "intrusive, traumatic and dehumanizing."

"I americium a feminist. I volition reason for women's rights. I volition bash everything I tin to support women's rights for arsenic agelong arsenic I live," AFP quoted her arsenic saying during a lengthy statement connected the law.

"But I besides deliberation it's an important portion of my work to marque beingness a small spot easier for stigmatised minorities successful our country, to marque their lives a spot amended and to region immoderate of the trauma they unrecorded with connected a day-to-day basis."

The measure has outgo Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon overmuch oppositionImage: John Linton/empics/picture confederation

Scotland's Social Justice Minister Shona Robison besides defended the law, saying that different countries who passed akin laws witnessed a "remarkable" alteration successful unit against transgender people.

"I deliberation we tin each anticipation that trans radical successful Scotland volition besides beryllium capable to payment from those affirmative outcomes arsenic the measure removes barriers to the enjoyment of their quality rights," Reuters quoted Robison arsenic saying up of the vote.

rmt/jcg (AFP, Reuters)