Stephen Daisley Stephen Daisley

Scotland’s messy Gender Recognition Act is a symptom of Holyrood’s weaknesses

[iStock]

The Scottish parliament will today consider final amendments to the Gender Recognition Reform Bill. The Bill, a key priority of Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP-Green government, will update the Gender Recognition Act 2004, the legislation governing the acquisition of a gender recognition certificate (GRC). Once a person obtains a GRC, ‘the law will recognise them as having all the rights and responsibilities appropriate to a person of their acquired gender’. 

At present, a man who wishes the law to recognise him as a woman, or vice versa, must be at least 18 years of age and must undergo a long process based on medical evidence of gender dysphoria. The Bill will change this by jettisoning the requirement for a clinical diagnosis and putting in its place a regime of self-declaration. It will reduce the statutory waiting period from two years to three months plus a further three-month reflection period. It will also lower the age at which a person may embark on the process to 16.

Get Britain's best politics newsletters

Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Comments

Join the debate for just £1 a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in