MSPS and their staff have sent a letter to Holyrood’s governing body expressing “deep concern” over its decision to ban trans people from using toilets of their acquired gender.
Nearly 50 Scottish parliamentarians, including 16 MSPs, signed the letter to the Scottish Parliament’s corporate body, the Guardian reports, after it set out its interim position earlier this month in response to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling.
In April, the Supreme Court ruled that under the Equality Act 2010 a woman is defined by “biological sex” and does not include a transgender woman with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).
This went against how the law had been interpreted across public and private bodies in the UK for the past 20 years.
It led to Alison Johnstone, Holyrood’s Presiding Officer, to issue guidance stating that toilets designated as male or female will now be interpreted as meaning biological sex.
Johnstone said that the parliament will increase its exisiting provision of gender-neutral toilets, open to anyone, to ensure “confidence, privacy and dignity” for visitors and staff.
The letter, however, argues that Holyrood has misinterpreted the court judgment, based on legal advice from the Good Law Project.
“The designation suggested in the guidance issued is that male and female spaces will be applied ‘by biological sex’,” the letter states.
This approach “risks exposing [trans people], and anyone who may be gender non-conforming, to humiliation, harassment or worse – all under the guise of ‘clarity’, the letter adds.
The letter is now available online for other MSPs and parliamentary staff to sign.
Former ministers Elena Whitham and Emma Roddick, as well as depute SNP leader Keith Brown, have signed the letter.
Scottish Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, as well as Scottish LibDem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton have also signed the letter.
Former SNP MP Hannah Bardell organised the letter working with the Good Law project, said she expected more politicians and staff to sign up.
“I’ve spoken to many MSPs who feel huge concern about this decision. I hope this can move the debate forward and that the corporate body can rethink their decision just like other organisations have done,” Bardell said.
“It’s very sad that the question of how trans people live their lives has become so toxic that the very people who represent them feel nervous about signing a letter like this.”
Other parliaments in the UK, Westminster, Stormont and the Senedd, did not change their policies. While interim guidance was published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), official guidance is now expected to be delayed until after the summer while consultation is undertaken.
The interim guidance banned transgender people from using the bathroom of their acquired gender, and was called “authoritarian and cruel”.
A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said the current position could be changed in light of an updated code of practice from the EHRC.
A spokesperson said: “We will therefore consult with staff, their trade union representatives, members and other stakeholders, including equalities groups who work regularly and closely with people with protected equalities characteristics, at an appropriate point.”
