Equality charity says attempt to overturn widely-supported 2018 legislation is ‘misguided’, and will have a ‘chilling effect’ on trans people in Scotland.
Scottish Trans (ST), part of the LGBTI human rights charity Equality Network, have been given permission to intervene in a legal case which is seeking to throw out legislation passed two years ago, ensuring greater involvement of women in public life in Scotland.
The Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018, guarantees women 50% of places on public boards, and was welcomed by all parties as step towards equality.
The Act is working well, but a group called ‘For Women Scotland’ (FWS) wants it to be scrapped, because they object to the fact it allows trans women to be included in that 50%. Trans women make up an estimated 0.2% of the Scottish population. According to FWS’ crowdfunding page, it has raised over £60,000 to bring the challenge against Holyrood in Scotland’s supreme civil court. Scottish Trans is also paying for all fees related to the case out of fundraising donations.
The case is due to be heard by the Court of Session on 7 January 2021.
Senior judges have now granted Scottish Trans permission to act as third-party ‘interveners’, which means we can submit evidence to the court about why we believe changing the legislation would be an unnecessary setback to trans equality and inclusion.
ST believes FWS’ actions are damaging to the interests of all women, which is why we applied for permission to intervene in the case. We believe the law that FWS seeks to overturn is fair, inclusive, and working well, and we support the Scottish government’s attempts to increase diversity on public boards. Trans women are virtually invisible in our public life, and we are against putting greater obstacles in their way.
Vic Valentine, Scottish Trans manager says:
“Trans people deserve the same dignity and privacy as everyone else. Why should we have to reveal intimate details about our history and private life, before we can, say, sit on the board for the Accounts Commission or the National Library? This misguided case will have a chilling effect on the willingness of trans people to take part in public life. It’s telling us that we are not welcome or wanted.
“This law was passed in 2018, and has been working well, encouraging more women into public life. If this case succeeds and the requirement for 50% of board members to be women is thrown out, it will set back the rights of all women to take part in public life in Scotland – not just trans women. We believe women should have their voices heard by public bodies, and trans women should not be singled out to be excluded.”
ST is represented pro bono by the Scottish Just Law Centre, part of the human rights legal charity JustRight Scotland; Dorothy Bain QC is instructed as advocate (see below).
Jen Ang, director at JustRight Scotland says:
“We are supporting Scottish Trans to intervene in this case as part of our work to ensure that people who are affected by potential changes to the law have the chance to exercise their legal rights, including having a fair opportunity to explain to the judge how that change might impact them. As an organisation, we aim to help people find ways of participating in legal processes where the outcome of a court decision directly affects them and those they support.’
For more information, contact:
Vic Valentine, Scottish Trans: 07999074498
Jen Ang, JustRight Scotland: [email protected]; 07469 895883