National equality organisations north and south of the border welcome publication of government’s transgender equality report.
The report produced by the House of Commons Women and Equalities committee makes over 30 recommendations for improving equality for transgender people identifying among other matters that the wait for NHS treatment is too slow and that social attitudes mean that trans people still have to battle to be accepted.
James Morton, Scottish Transgender Alliance Manager, said: “We welcome the publication of this important report. For many years we have been raising concerns about the gaps in legal protections for trans people and the discrimination they experience. We are delighted the report recommends that the Gender Recognition Act must be reformed to a self-declaration administrative process. This would enable trans people to change their birth certificates without the current red-tape nightmare of submitting intrusive medical and psychiatric reports and years of personal documents to a judicial tribunal panel. We call for the Scottish Parliament to lead the way in legislating on this devolved issue.
“We are also very pleased the report recommends reforming the Equality Act protected characteristic from the narrow term of ‘gender reassignment’ to the more inclusive term ‘gender identity’. It is vital that all transgender people receive full protection from discrimination in employment and service provision. The Equality Act is reserved legislation so this change needs to be achieved at Westminster.
“The report marks the first time any Westminster Committee has acknowledged the importance of addressing the needs of non-binary trans people who do not identify simply as men or as women. The recommendation to provide people with the option to record their gender as ‘X’ rather than ‘M’ or ‘F’ on their passport is a very positive first step forward but it is not the only action needed. We look forward to engaging in detail with both the Scottish and UK Parliaments to increase their understanding of the need to fully legally recognise and respect the identities of non-binary trans people.”
Emma Ritch, Director of Engender, Scotland’s national feminist organisation, added: “Engender welcomes the publication of this report. As a feminist organisation we strongly believe that progressing transgender equality is a vital part of realising women’s equality.”
Jackie Driver, Lead Director for LGBT issues at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “We welcome today’s landmark report on transgender equality. Despite the marked progress that has been made towards achieving equality for trans people, prejudice and barriers still remain. Many of the report’s recommendations reflect issues highlighted in our recent equality and human rights review Is Britain Fairer? This found significant gaps in data relating to the lives of transgender people, meaning that the issues they face risk being invisible.
“Research shows that trans people can be targeted for hate crimes up to 50 times a year, with only 3 in 10 reporting the incidents. We’ve been working with 35 LGB and T organisations across the country to tackle the under-reporting and improve how criminal justice agencies respond to these crimes.
“The importance of a strong, comprehensive and coherent strategy to lever progress on the issues facing trans people cannot be under-estimated and we agree with the report’s conclusion that the trans community should be fully consulted, including in the development of a new hate crime action plan. We look forward to working with the Committee, Government and the trans community to make progress on the issues identified in this report as a matter of urgency.”
LGBT+ Liberal Democrats the official LGBT organisation for LGBT+ Liberal Democracts welcomed the “continued progress” towards equality for trans and non-binary people, but cautioned that further work remains to be done to ensure the proposals are fully implemented.
LGBT+ Liberal Democrats Chair Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett, said: “I welcome the commitment to review and continue the excellent work started out by LibDem former Minister Baroness Lynne Featherstone in her time as Minister for Equalities. We must not be complacent however, as much work remains to ensure the government acts on the recommendations of the report.
“Many of the proposed reforms in the report are topics that Liberal Democrats have campaigned on for many years, including allowing “X” Gender Markers on passports and removing medical obstacles when obtaining Legal Gender Recognition. I hope that the government can also extend the work done here and look further at the issues affecting non-binary and intersex people.”
Trans former parliamentary candidate Zoe O’Connell added: “Today’s report is another step closer to equality for trans people, and I hope that the government will act swiftly both to resolve the breaches of the NHS’s legal obligations on waiting times and to bring forward legislation on other issues without undue delay. I am however disappointed that the committee has remained timid in a number of areas, in particular failing to fully recognise the harms caused by the Spousal Veto and not endorsing the more progressive informed consent model of treatment.
“LGBT+ Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign for reform in these and other areas, in line with party policy.”
To read a full copy of the report, click here:
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