Latest news with #EqualityandHumanRightsCommission
Scotsman
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Nicola Sturgeon: Supreme Court judgment on definition of woman 'massively overinterpreted'
Nicola Sturgeon | John Devlin Nicola Sturgeon has warned that politicians should update the law if the Supreme Court judgment harms the lives of transgender people. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Nicola Sturgeon has warned the Supreme Court judgment defining a woman in the Equality Act has been 'massively overinterpreted" as she repeated her calls for Keir Starmer's government to amend the law if the fallout impacts on the lives of trans people. The former first minister has revealed that she has had more "misogynistic abuse" over the issue of gender recognition than any other during her career. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon | John Devlin Unsurprisingly, Ms Sturgeon has reiterated that she will always be an "ally of the trans community". Ms Sturgeon, speaking in events at the How the Light Gets In festival in Hay-on Wye in Powys, Wales, on Saturday, stressed that the Supreme Court judgment last month had said "what the law is, there is no gainsaying that". The court ruled that the definition of a woman in the Equality Act refers to a biological woman. Trans women can legally become a woman through the Gender Recognition Act. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Echoing her comments given at Holyrood earlier this month, Ms Sturgeon stressed that it was up to politicians to "decide what the law should be or has to be". Watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), has faced accusations of a kneejerk response to the ruling after issuing interim guidance which recommends transgender people should not be allowed to use toilets of the gender they live as, and that in some cases they also cannot use toilets of their birth sex. Ms Sturgeon pointed to comments last week from Baroness Hale of Richmond, the first female president of the Supreme Court, who said that the judgment had been "misinterpreted". Susan Smith, left, and Marion Calder, directors of For Women Scotland, cheer as they leave the Supreme Court in London following the landmark ruling against the Scottish Government Lady Hale said that there was "nothing in that judgment that says that you can't have gender-neutral loos". Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Sturgeon said: "That judgment, I think, has been massively overinterpreted in terms of some of the immediate reactions to it. "But if it is the case that the judgment means we have to move to a situation where trans lives are almost impossible to live then I'm sorry but the law has to change because that is not an acceptable way to be." Ms Sturgeon said that despite the abuse she had received over her support for the trans community, she would "always" be its ally "no matter how difficult that might be". Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She added: "Many of those who are on the other side [of the issue] say it is all about protecting women," she told the festival. "Isn't it ironic that I have probably had more misogynistic abuse as a result of this issue than on any other issue in my entire political career. Go figure." According to The Sunday Times, Ms Sturgeon's comments have been criticised by Susan Smith of For Women Scotland, the organisation that won the Supreme Court appeal against the Scottish Government. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said: "It would be quite ironic, although not unexpected, if the first female first minister was resolutely sticking to the notion that biological sex is some nebulous concept. "There has indeed been a great deal of misrepresentation of the Supreme Court ruling but the most egregious has come from trans activists who have spun the most outrageous interpretations. "Baroness Hale was correct in saying that the ruling does not outlaw gender-neutral toilets but any organisation which only provides such facilities should be mindful that this may result in discrimination against other protected characteristics, in addition to sex.
Evening Standard
5 days ago
- Politics
- Evening Standard
Almost 10,000 gender certificates granted amid rise in Gen Z applications
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) told BBC Radio 4's Today programme in the days after the ruling: 'I think the next stage of litigation may well be tests as to the efficacy of the GRC, and or other areas.'
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
For Women Scotland threaten SNP with fresh legal action
The judgment clarified that the terms 'man' and 'woman' in the legislation refer to biological sex, not acquired gender. While First Minister John Swinney welcomed the 'clarity' provided by the judgment, the Scottish Government has said it is waiting for guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). READ MORE Aitken: Glasgow 'disempowered' by Spending Review as English regions gain more powers Bowie: Time for Tories to stop 'self-flagellating' over Truss and Johnson chaos 'Farcical:' Ross criticised for chairing Holyrood committee meeting from Caribbean The watchdog is due to publish an updated statutory Code of Practice — effectively an authoritative instruction manual on applying the Equality Act — later this year. Speaking at a fringe event at the Scottish Conservative conference, For Women Scotland's Marion Calder said people needed to challenge organisations failing to implement the law. 'We are possibly going to have to go back to court in order to get some of the government policies — especially policies in prison — changed. There are still at least four male murderers in the women's prison estate in Scotland, and that is a shocking fact. 'But we have [the Supreme Court judgment] now, and this is a fantastic basis to go forward.' Speaking to journalists later, she said: 'We have spoken to the Scottish Government and asked them to withdraw some of this guidance — just even say it is under review. They do not have to reissue anything at this point, but because it is clearly unlawful, we really do need some action. 'They are telling us they have to wait for the EHRC revised guidance. We do not believe this is true.' She pointed to comments from the EHRC stating that the judgment is effective immediately, and that those with duties under the Equality Act 2010 should already be complying with the law. Ms Calder said: 'And of course, the risk to the Scottish Government if they do not act is that, if a woman is assaulted in prison next week by one of these male convicts, their liability will have skyrocketed. 'In any case, the Scottish Government tells us that the Scottish Prison Service sets its own policy — that it is an arm's-length organisation — but any case would be taken against the Scottish ministers. 'So I think they need to start to step up and take a bit of responsibility, because these things are under their remit.' Ms Calder said she believed ministers were reluctant to act as they were 'worried about a legal challenge from the other side'. 'But my message to them would be — they should be more worried about a legal challenge from the people who have the law on their side,' she added. The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
The National
06-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Trans people must accept perceived reduced rights, EHRC commissioner
Speaking at a debate about the repercussions of April's ruling by the Supreme Court, Akua Reindorf said trans people have been misled and 'lied to over many years' about what their rights actually were. Reindorf, a barrister who is one of eight commissioners at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and is drawing up the official post-ruling guidance, added that there 'has to be a period of correction' and believes the fault lay with trans lobbyists. Reindorf was reportedly speaking in a personal capacity, but has been criticised as the director of the trans campaign group TransActual said the commissioner's remarks were profoundly unhelpful. READ MORE: John Swinney defends 'two-horse race' comments after by-election loss to Labour Human rights campaign groups Liberty and Amnesty have also called on the EHRC to safeguard the rights of trans people and to make sure they are properly considered when it draws up guidance for public bodies on how to implement the changed legal landscape. Speaking at an event organised by the London School of Economics law school, Reindorf argued that the impact of the ruling was clear. Reindorf condemned what she called 'this huge farce with organisations up and down the country wringing their hands and creating working groups and so on, and people in society worrying that they will have nowhere to go to the toilet'. Asked by an audience member about worries the ruling could reduce the rights of trans people, another panellist, the barrister Naomi Cunningham, reportedly said trans people 'will have to give way'. Cunningham added: 'It can't be helped, I'm afraid.' Reindorf then agreed, as she said: 'Unfortunately, young people and trans people have been lied to over many years about what their rights are. 'It's like Naomi said – I just can't say it in a more diplomatic way than that. 'They have been lied to, and there has to be a period of correction, because other people have rights.' Reindorf said her comments reflected the fact that before the ruling, the law had been commonly misunderstood because pressure groups argued that trans people who self-identified should be treated as their identified sex, when this was in fact just the case for people with a gender recognition certificate (GRC). Reindorf added that the Supreme Court decided that this mix of different rights made the Equality Act unworkable and called it 'the catalyst for many to catch up, belatedly, with the fact that the law never permitted self-ID in the first place'. She said: 'The fact is that, until now, trans people without GRCs were being grievously misled about their legal rights. 'The correction of self-ID policies and practices will inevitably feel like a loss of rights for trans people. 'This unfortunate position is overwhelmingly a product of the misinformation which was systematically disseminated over a long period by lobby groups and activists.' In April, the EHRC released interim, non-statutory advice about how to interpret the ruling, which set out that transgender people should not be allowed to use toilets of the gender they live as, and that in some cases they cannot use toilets of their birth sex. A number of critics have since called the advice oversimplistic, with legal campaign groups saying they plan on challenging the verdict. Chiara Capraro, head of gender justice at Amnesty International UK, said: 'The EHRC has the duty to uphold the rights of everyone, including all with protected characteristics. We are concerned that it is failing to do so and is unhelpfully pitting the rights of women and trans people against each other.' Akiko Hart, Liberty's director, said: 'Any updated guidance from the EHRC must respect and uphold the rights of everyone in society. The supreme court's judgment was very narrow, and there are a lot of very legitimate questions about how it's implemented that must be carefully considered.' A director of the trans campaign group TransActual, Jane Fae, rejected Reindorf's argument, stating: 'The characterisation of what was previously a widely held view both by the EHRC as well as by civil servants and lawyers working in the field of equality as 'lying' is profoundly unhelpful. 'Prior to the ruling of the supreme court in April, trans people just wanted to live their lives within the framework as it was understood. ''Activism' has only really come into being over the last few years in response to a never-ending campaign designed to deprive trans people of rights.' A spokesperson for the EHRC said: 'Akua Reindorf KC spoke at this event in a personal capacity. This was made clear at the event and in the video recording published online. 'As Britain's equality regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission upholds and enforces the Equality Act 2010 to ensure everyone is treated fairly, consistent with the act. 'Our board come from all walks of life and bring with them a breadth of skills and experience. This helps us take impartial decisions, which are always based on evidence and the law.'
The Guardian
01-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Coherent strategy needed to tackle racism
That so few of the 600 recommendations to tackle racism have been implemented is all the more disappointing given that ways forward are well understood (Only a third of recommendations to tackle endemic racism in UK implemented, 25 May). When the last Labour government established the Equality and Human Rights Commission, it also launched the first national benchmarking survey of prejudice (2005), originally intended for triennial repetition but in fact only repeated once, in 2017. The British Academy's work on cohesive societies and the societal impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Belong and the Nuffield Foundation's work on cohesion through the pandemic and the Khan review all concluded that preventing prejudice and building cohesion cannot be done unless we regularly and systematically survey changes in social attitudes and relationships across different places and contexts. The social processes that generate prejudice and discrimination are well understood and require coherent strategies to be addressed. Changing levels of poverty and inequality, social mixing, population ageing and environmental challenges mean manifestations of social fracture and distrust will differ across time and place. Unless there is a systematic approach and investment to address the processes of prejudice, including tracking its forms with sufficient frequency, policymakers will continue with the 'doom loop' of despair, inquiries and recommendations, and insufficient solutions when things go Dominic AbramsUniversity of Kent Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
