Following one of the most lengthy debates in the Scottish Parliament's history, MSPs have voted to approve a controversial bill which makes it easier for people to legally change their gender. However, the UK government, which says it has concerns about the safety of women and children, may seek to block the reform from Royal Assent and has not yet ruled out a legal challenge.
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill would remove the requirement for medical reports, including a gender dysphoria diagnosis, and reduce the period applicants must live in their acquired gender from two years to three months (six months for 16 and 17-year-olds). A three-month 'reflection period' would be added before a gender recognition certificate is issued, and applications would be handled by the Registrar General for Scotland instead of a UK panel.
Ellie Gomersall, 23, president of the National Union of Students Scotland, is a strong supporter of the legislation. She describes a lengthy wait to be seen at a gender identity clinic and a struggle to accumulate the required paperwork. 'I often joke that the hardest thing about being trans is the admin,' she says. Nearly five years after coming out as a woman, she has been able to amend her passport and driving licence, but her birth certificate still records her sex as male. She argues that gender identity should not be a matter for the state: 'I think ultimately the only person who can really describe my own identity, my own gender is me.'
Opponents of the bill, including the UK government, argue that the changes could undermine the safety of women and children by making it easier for men to access single-sex spaces such as refuges and hospital wards. The Scottish government has attempted to present the bill as an administrative tidying-up exercise designed to simplify and streamline the process in a manner which is 'more respectful of the privacy and dignity of trans men and women'.
