Nicola Sturgeon has rejected calls to pause her controversial gender reform bill after branding the concerns of a United Nations expert as “not well founded”.
At FMQs, Douglas Ross urged the First Minister to delay the legislation until Parliament has heard evidence from UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem, who believes it could put the safety of women and girls at risk.
The Scottish Conservative leader expressed dismay that Nationalist MSPs voted against acknowledging Ms Alsalem’s report, as well as an amendment from Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay calling for a ban on convicted sex offenders changing gender.
Douglas Ross said that parliament should make good laws, rather than quick ones – and warned that the current proposals open the door for violent males to abuse the process of acquiring a gender certificate.
He urged Ms Sturgeon to delay the bill until live legal cases, which could have a material impact on it, have concluded – something the Special Rapporteur has also called for.
Ms Sturgeon denied that the bill was rushed and vowed to press ahead with it.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “Reem Alsalem is a United Nations expert. She is the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls.
“Very few people can speak with greater authority on women’s safety. She has said that the bill could open the door for violent males to abuse the process of acquiring a gender certificate.
“The Scottish Parliament, including the committee in charge of scrutinising this bill, has not had a chance to examine her evidence and hear from her in person.
“She has also offered to provide her expertise to the First Minister on the gender recognition bill.
“The First Minister should agree to pause this legislation, instead of rushing it through, so we can properly consider the findings of this leading global expert on this crucial matter.
“Yet, last night, when the Scottish Conservatives asked Parliament to simply acknowledge the report of the UN Rapporteur, the First Minister voted against this.
“This government also rejected an amendment from my Scottish Conservative colleague Russell Findlay to ban convicted sex offenders from changing gender to reduce the risk of attacks on women.
“Right now, there are live court cases that could have a material impact on this bill. The UN expert says the government should, at the very least, await the outcome of these judgments before pressing ahead with legislation.”
Notes
The UN Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls criticised the SNP Government’s Gender Recognition Reform bill. Reem Alsalem stated in a letter to the UK Government that the Bill presents ‘potential risks to the safety of women in all their diversity (including women born female, transwomen, and gender non-conforming women)’ and that ‘the ongoing efforts to reform existing legislation by the Scottish Government do not sufficiently take into consideration the specific needs of women and girls in all their diversity, particularly those at risk of male violence and those who have experienced male violence.’ Reem Alsalem also stated that ‘it is important to note that insistence on safeguarding and risk management protocols does not arise from the belief that transgender people represent a safeguarding threat’ and that it is ‘instead based on empirical evidence that demonstrates that the majority of sex offenders are male, and that persistent sex offenders will go to great lengths to gain access to those they wish to abuse.’ (Twitter, 23 November 2022, link).