Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 03 March 2022
I, too, thank the cabinet secretary for advanced sight of the statement and for her tone.
This is about rights. The Parliament has been bold before—for example, in relation to section 2A of the Local Government Act 1986, which is also known as section 28—and we can, and I hope that we will, be bold again.
Trans people’s rights are human rights. Trans people must be treated with the same dignity and respect as everyone else. Right now, the process of getting a gender recognition certificate does not do that. It is lengthy and traumatic, which is why we support the reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the demedicalisation of the process.
However, we must acknowledge that, in the time that it has taken us to get here, the Government has allowed a vacuum to develop, allowing fear and ignorance to prosper. The cabinet secretary said in her statement that some people are concerned about the potential impact on women and girls. As the bill progresses, it is essential that everyone’s rights are protected.
The Scottish Government made a commitment to proceed in a way that would build consensus, but the reality is that discussion around the issue has become toxic for everyone involved and the Government has not done enough to address that. Will the cabinet secretary set out how she intends to move forward in a way that brings people together, limits the opportunities for more hateful and abusive rhetoric and ensures that we can look back on this moment with pride? Will she set out how we can turn this moment into something that we can be proud of?