The two sides of Scotland's gender law debate

The diamond writer of Cathkin Park is glinting successful the wintertime prima arsenic Ellie Gomersall reflects connected thing intensely idiosyncratic - her identity.

It is simply a bitterly beauteous December time connected the southbound broadside of Glasgow and Ms Gomersall, 23, is telling america astir "coming out" arsenic a woman.

It was, she says, "a truly happy, joyous moment" acknowledgment to the enactment of friends and family.

But the bureaucracy she past encountered was little enjoyable.

Ms Gomersall describes a lengthy - and continuing - hold to beryllium seen astatine a sex individuality clinic, and a conflict to accumulate the paperwork required to show to the satellite that she is not a man.

"I often gag that the hardest happening astir being trans is the admin," she says with a wry smile.

Ms Gomersall is presently president of the National Union of Students Scotland, though she is speaking to BBC News successful a idiosyncratic capacity.

Nearly 5 years aft "coming out," she has been capable to amend her passport and driving licence which present bespeak her preferred identity, listing her enactment arsenic female. Her commencement certificate, however, inactive records that she was calved male.

If she were to wed oregon dice immoderate clip soon the matrimony oregon decease certificates besides would authorities that she was a man.

That means, she says, that astatine contiguous "I can't warrant that I'll person dignity successful death".

For the past 17 years, the process for changing enactment connected a commencement certificate has been acceptable retired successful the Gender Recognition Act 2004, enacted by the Westminster parliament successful April 2005.

Applicants indispensable archetypal get a sex designation certificate, the criteria for which are elaborate successful the legislation.

The existent requirements successful UK instrumentality for a sex designation certificate are:

The Scottish authorities - led by the Scottish National Party but besides including ministers from the Scottish Green Party, of which Ms Gomersall is simply a subordinate - wants to region immoderate of those hurdles, making the process quicker and easier.

Ms Gomersall is simply a beardown protagonist of the legislation, which she says would marque her beingness easier and much dignified.

She argues that sex individuality should not beryllium a substance for the state.

"I deliberation yet the lone idiosyncratic who tin truly picture my ain identity, my ain sex is me," she insists.

She explains that she has been incapable to alteration her commencement certificate due to the fact that she has been incapable to get a sex designation certificate - due to the fact that she has been incapable to get an archetypal appointment, fto unsocial a diagnosis of sex dysphoria oregon the required aesculapian reports, astatine Glasgow's Sandyford sex individuality clinic, 1 of four specified facilities tally by NHS Scotland.

The Scottish authorities has attempted to contiguous the measure arsenic an administrative tidying-up workout designed to simplify and streamline the process successful a mode which is "more respectful of the privateness and dignity of trans men and women".

Opponents of the measure - led by the writer JK Rowling - consciousness it goes overmuch further than that.

The Scottish government's plans, she wrote, "will successful effect mean that each a antheral needs to 'become a woman' is to accidental he's one".

In the article, Ms Rowling expressed sympathy with susceptible trans radical who "need and merit protection", and said she wants trans women to beryllium safe.

"At the aforesaid time, I bash not privation to marque natal girls and women little safe.

"When you propulsion unfastened the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to immoderate antheral who believes oregon feels he's a pistillate - and, arsenic I've said, sex confirmation certificates whitethorn present beryllium granted without immoderate request for country oregon hormones - past you unfastened the doorway to immoderate and each men who privation to travel inside. That is the elemental truth."

Ms Gomersall disagrees, insisting "all this process does is it changes your commencement certificate - and nary 1 checks someone's commencement certificate earlier they entree a azygous enactment space. This authorities has nary interaction connected azygous enactment spaces."

Ms Rowling and her chap critics of the measure are acold from satisfied by specified assurances.

When, successful October, the writer posted connected Twitter a photograph of herself wearing a T-shirt which described First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arsenic a "destroyer of women's rights" it was a reminder that 2 of Scotland's astir palmy women are present pitted against each different successful 1 of the large motivation debates of our time.

Ms Sturgeon responded to the T-shirt disapproval by urging respect and insisting that the measure neither gave immoderate further rights to trans radical nor took immoderate rights distant from women.

"It is men who onslaught women and we request to absorption connected that, not connected further stigmatising and discriminating against a tiny radical successful our nine that is already 1 of the astir stigmatised," she told BBC Radio Scotland.

"I accidental this arsenic a passionate life-long feminist, and I person spent overmuch of my beingness campaigning for women's rights."

The connection has besides been arguable wrong the SNP leader's ain enactment starring to the resignation of assemblage information curate Ash Regan arsenic portion of the biggest rebellion since the enactment came to powerfulness astatine Holyrood.

Ms Rowling's tweet criticising the SNP person was successful enactment of a organisation called For Women Scotland who picture themselves arsenic "working to support and fortify women and children's rights".

Over java successful an Edinburgh cafe, the group's co-director Susan Smith told maine she was peculiarly acrophobic astir the imaginable effect of this "massive societal change" connected young people.

"In different countries, they are halting the usage of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for radical nether 18 due to the fact that we are starting to spot immoderate truly terrible carnal broadside effects," she said.

Ms Smith said Scotland was going successful the other direction, and warned astir the interaction of these treatments.

She said young people's cognition of their sex was astir apt successful flux until they were successful their twenties.

And she described the "total acceptance of the premise that enactment is not existent and that it's a feeling" arsenic an "extremist position".

"I deliberation that immoderate of the ideas successful this, particularly astir radical having been calved successful the incorrect assemblage oregon having pistillate brains... are profoundly sexist, due to the fact that they suggest there's a mode to beryllium a pistillate and a mode to beryllium a man."

Even the United Nations has present go embroiled successful the debate, with 2 UN experts giving contradictory grounds to MSPs astir the law's imaginable impact.

Reem Alsalem, the UN's peculiar rapporteur connected unit against women, told members of Holyrood's equalities committee that introducing sex self-identification could spot convulsive men taking vantage of loopholes "to get into women's spaces and person entree to women".

But Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN autarkic adept connected intersexual predisposition and sex identity, insisted determination was "no evidence" that "maintaining complexity successful the process of designation of sex individuality would beryllium an effectual safeguard".

Even if the measure becomes instrumentality that whitethorn not beryllium the extremity of the matter, arsenic the UK authorities has been making noises astir challenging the legislation.

One imaginable avenue for doing truthful is the enactment betwixt sex designation certificates issued successful Scotland and equalities law, which is reserved to Westminster.

Last week Scotland's Court of Session ruled successful favour of the Scottish government implicit its volition to see trans radical successful the explanation of women successful presumption of pistillate practice connected nationalist assemblage boards.

Lady Haldane concluded that for the purposes of the 2010 Equalities Act the meaning of enactment was "not constricted to biologic oregon commencement sex."

For Women Scotland, which brought the case, says the ruling reveals that a sex designation certificate efficaciously counts arsenic a alteration of enactment nether the Equality Act. It says this could unfastened up women-only spaces specified arsenic changing rooms and refuges to trans people, perchance putting women astatine risk.

Supporters of the measure importune that is simply a misreading of the ruling.

Another imaginable situation the UK authorities could equine would beryllium to reason that recognising Scottish sex designation certificates elsewhere successful the UK could breach the Scotland Act 1998, which established devolution, if Holyrood were seen to beryllium legislating beyond its borders.

On Monday, Scotland's societal justness caput Shona Robison and the UK's women and equalities curate Kemi Badenoch held a virtual gathering to sermon the British government's concerns.

While acknowledging that determination were precise antithetic views connected the taxable successful London and Edinburgh, the UK authorities nevertheless described the treatment arsenic "constructive" and the Scottish authorities said some sides had agreed to proceed to enactment together.

Aileen McHarg, prof of nationalist instrumentality and quality rights astatine Durham University's Law School, said determination was a 3rd way which opponents of the measure mightiness spell down: a situation nether Article Eight of the European Convention connected Human Rights (ECHR), which codifies a close to respect for privacy.

But, said Prof McHarg, supporters of the measure could besides equine a quality rights situation if determination was a broad refusal to recognise Scottish-issued sex designation certificates elsewhere successful the UK.

She told the BBC: "This is going to beryllium precise messy immoderate happens."