THERE is “weary satisfaction” and “hopeful confidence” as Scotland’s trans community braces for the Gender Recognition Act to be laid out in Holyrood for the second time.
The promise was made six years ago by the Scottish Government and there have been two lengthy public consultations since. Gender reform was a core part of the SNP-Green co-operation deal struck in August of last year.
The last draft bill fell at the end of the last parliamentary term, but it wasn’t to be left in limbo, with the Greens demanding legislation be laid in the first year of the new term to give it time to see proper scrutiny, and allow for inevitable amendments.
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The idea behind the reforms are to make it easier to gain a Gender Recognition Certificate through self-identification, instead of through a medical panel, and allowing trans people to be recognised for who they are. Instead of two years, trans people will only have to live in their “acquired gender” for three months, and can legally self-declare their gender to a notary public or justice of the peace.
The debate around the issue can often be toxic, particularly on social media, and the GRA Bill reform isn’t seen as a magical solution to the abuse trans people receive, or the rising number of hate crimes committed against them.
It’s more administrative, as Heather Herbert, 46, from Aberdeen, sees it, but for others it can mean recognition for the first time. Originally from England, Herbert (below) began her transition seven years ago, and although she has a huge file of evidence required to pursue a GRC collected over two years, she hasn’t decided to go through the “complex” process yet. She explained: “It’s main use is for, say if I was getting married, then to be married as a woman I’d need a GRC.
“When I die, all the details and stuff will say I’m male, because that’s what the records say, and a Gender Recognition Certificate would fix that, but you know, I’ll be dead then. I won’t really care, that’s more for my family and friends.”
Herbert also expects abuse on social media to escalate as the bill comes under scrutiny. “It will get worse, but it’s a fight that needs to be fought,” she says.
Herbert believes there might be an issue for trans people in Scotland who were born in other parts of the UK, as the UK Government is not pursuing reform on the same scale – Stonewall described the proposals as “minimal administrative changes”. She fears it might make it difficult to change her official records.
Eris Young (below) is a non-binary author based in Edinburgh, and said that the reform still won’t allow for them to be legally recognised.
The 29-year-old has not pursued an appointment with the gender clinic because they were lucky enough to be given access to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) in the United States, but added they are aware it is a lengthy and sometimes distressing process.
They said: “I know trans people who have been on one or another waiting list for most of their lives, and I have personally experienced the pain of living in the grips of dysphoria, waiting desperately for something to happen.
“When you’re a young trans person or just starting to figure out what it is you’re feeling, being told that, no, you have to put your feelings back in a box for six months, a year, five years, it’s very difficult.”
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Despite the last bill falling, there is hope the latest iteration will make it to the finish line. The full details of its contents won’t be known until it’s laid in parliament,
Herbert, who is standing as a Greens candidate in the local council elections in May, argues that the “balance of forces” has changed a lot since the last parliament: “I’m fairly confident, I don’t want to jinx it. I’m reasonably confident about it.”
Young believes that a recent poll from Savanta ComRes, showing the majority of Scots back reform to the GRC process, is encouraging. “If the bill is supposed to reflect the voice of the public, then it will pass,” they said. The Scottish Trans Alliance said that while a “vocal minority” strongly oppose reform there are others with concerns which will be “allayed as the legislation is explored”.
A spokesperson added: “We hope this majority of MSPs will do the right thing to ensure better access to legal recognition for trans men and trans women.”
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Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman agrees and thinks that legislation will pass as the co-operation deal will allow for a majority, even if opposition MSPs don’t support it.
She said: “If we didn’t get gender recognition reform then there was no point in entertaining the idea of a cooperation agreement. It’s gone on for far too long, it’s been laid before, we need to get it done and we need to get it done quickly.”
The bill is set to be laid by Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison, who will also give a ministerial statement. Robison was unavailable for comment, but a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We have now held two public consultations on our proposed changes. We have published independent analyses of responses to both consultations.”
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