A Glasgow trans woman and activist has condemned the UK Government's decision to block Scotland's gender recognition law as "attack on Scotland's trans people" and devolution.
Beth Douglas, who is the Rainbow Greens Co-Convenor and based in Govan, said she believes the decision will not pass in courts and was being used as a "manufactured culture war".
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which would make it easier for trans people to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate, was passed by the Scottish Parliament in December.
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Under the Bill, those aged 16 and 17 would be able to apply for a gender recognition certificate, but only after living in their "acquired gender" for six months rather than three months for those who are older.
However, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack's announcement on Monday that the UK Government would use a Section 35 order means the Bill cannot currently progress to Royal Assent and become law.
Beth, 29, spoke to Glasgow Live about this decision, describing it as "a very alarming development".
She said: "This is an attack on Scotland's trans people, but it's also bigger than me and my community - this is an attack on devolution and it risks democracy in the British union itself.
"We've just seen the reasons that Alister Jack has given out - that this is about protecting single sex spaces. However, I would ask him, and any opponent, when was the last time that you used a birth certificate to enter a single sex space? When have you ever used your birth certificate to go to a toilet, a restroom, or a changing room, or used a service?
"So I'm very confident that this is going to be squashed in the courts.
"However, this is a very alarming development, not just for people who are trans or trans allies, but also for any passionate supporter of devolution.
"This concerns all of us, it concerns the whole of Scotland and all of the devolved areas in the UK and we can't let this be the new normal, because if it becomes the new normal that Westminster can just introduce Section 35s and that becomes the precedent, then what does this mean for other legislation? Clearly devolved legislation that is coming forward through the Scottish Parliament.
"It's very, very dodgy and if we don't win against this massive enemy, I really, really worry about the implications that this will have, not just for the trans community, but for the whole of Scotland."
Speaking as a member of the trans community, Beth says the recent announcement may spark fear for many, but added it was a tactic designed to "shame you into staying out of public life".
"It makes you feel scared, it makes you feel afraid," she said. "But I constantly have to remind myself that they're doing this because they want to push people like us back into the closet. This is ultimately what their main goal is for people who are against LGBT+ equality.
"So I need to constantly remind myself of that and these people are basically trying to shame you into staying out of public life so you can be not seen or heard.
"Really, this is about a manufactured culture war by the UK Government and they want to keep that manufactured culture war alive."
Following Westminster's decision to block the bill, Labour leader Keir Starmer said he thought 16 was too young an age for people to decide to legally change their birth gender.
Labour MSPs expressed their disappointment in his decision to criticise the bill, while Beth said she feels his comments were "an open goal".
She said: "I feel really let down by Keir Starmer. I feel like I shouldn't be surprised, he's always fairly middle of the aisle but what's different about it this time is the Labour party is the party that brought forward the Equality Act, the party that brought forward the original Gender Recognition Act. It's also the party of devolution and Keir Starmer seems to be throwing that all away just in order to keep this culture war alive.
"I believe he's missing a firmly open goal at the moment because in order to stay in the middle of the aisle, he's going against the identity of his party and it is another pledge in a whole long list of pledges that Keir Starmer has made that he has went back on."
Following the decision to block the bill Alister Jack claimed the Gender Recognition reforms could have "chilling effects on single-sex spaces" for women.
In response to this, Beth said: "A Gender Recognition Certificate does three things. The first thing is to make sure that you are taxed in the correct gender, the second is to make sure that when you get married, you can get married under the right gender.
"The third one - and this is the most important for me - is that when you die, the sex on your birth certificate implies the sex on your death certificate, meaning that if you don't get a GRC and you pass away, you will be buried under the wrong gender. So this is about letting trans people die with dignity and just operate with their admin a little bit easier in their day to day life. It has got nothing to do with single sex spaces.
"There was even an amendment in this bill itself that says 'for the avoidance of all doubt, this bill does not impact anything in the Equality Act' and that makes complete sense because if you look at the bill itself, there isn't anything that goes on the Equality Act.
"This is about the process of getting a GRC. Every trans person already had the right to legally change their sex, it's just about changing that process. Those are the only powers that a GRC has.
"It has no impact on spaces and if we actually look - there were some comments made in the House of Commons around that this is about single sex services like rape crisis centres but all of the women's services in Scotland for violence against women all exist on a self-ID basis. And they haven't done that because they're forced to, they've done that because they believe that is the best strategy to work under.
"Because I think if there are women that are fleeing domestic violence, the last thing they need to do or should do is prove that they're a woman in order to enter it. So that sort of line of rhetoric isn't just harmful to trans women, it's harmful to all woman. Because if you're able to try and police what a woman is, it makes it really easier to enforce the patriarchy and enforce really regressive ideas of what women can and can't do and who they should be identified."
While Beth acknowledged that there is a desire to become inflamed by online discourse, she added that many women are "radicalised" and are also victims.
"I need to remind myself, because it's very easy to get angry at people online, especially in today's environment, but what I need to constantly remind myself is that some of these women have been radicalised into thinking this way," she said.
"They've been given misinformation upon misinformation throughout the seven years of this debate if you're a woman who has been attacked in the past, it's very easy for someone to plant ideas in your head as a vulnerable person and say 'these men are coming to do it all over again and to destroy your rights'.
"So I have to remind myself that some of the people I'm arguing with are also victims in this conflict because of that radicalisation that's been given and it's really the misinformation that we need to target because it's innocent people at stake - both trans women and also cis women."
Beth added: "I'm very worried about what happens if we lose - if we lose not only is it a victory for intolerance despite the union and I really think that even though there's a lot at risk here, I firmly believe that we can beat this government in passing these legislations.
"I think they're going to lose and I think they're going to be shamed while doing it. So my message to trans people who are very tired, are very burnt out, my advice to them is keep on doing what you're doing because I'm confident we're going to win this."
However, groups including For Women Scotland have welcomed the intervention by the UK Government.
Co-director Susan Smith said: "We welcome the intervention of the UK Government. We have long maintained that the GRR Bill interferes with the operation of the Equality Act across the UK. Throughout evidence sessions, the Scottish Government ignored and dismissed evidenced concerns about the potential impact of opening up this process - not, as they claimed, a simplification or a minor admin change, but a wholesale removal of checks and a granting of new rights under law.
"They made promises that were not in their gift and, shamefully, failed to protect women, even elevating the rights of sex offenders above those of their victims. They were especially cavalier about contested areas regarding the interaction with the Equality Act and the level of protections granted to GRC holders under section 22. Ms Sturgeon famously said our concerns were “not valid”, it seems that Westminster disagreed.
"Supporters of the Bill have been indignant about the possibility that the rest of the UK might refuse to accept Scottish GRCs, even though this, effectively, meant that the devolved parliament at Holyrood would be rewriting equality law across the UK without the consent of their elected representatives."
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