Scots trans woman to seek asylum in Argentina after Supreme Court ruling
SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: Jen Bell fears she will be discriminated against and persecuted in Scotland.
A Scottish transgender woman is to seek asylum in Argentina over fears of persecution and discrimination in Scotland.
Glasgow born Jen Bell's decision comes in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling last month which said in law, the term 'woman' refers to biological sex.
The ruling has sparked a raft of new rules and guidelines banning trans people from certain toilets, sports and clubs which has been welcomed by some gender-critical groups .
Jen, 31, was travelling in South America when the Supreme Court ruling was announced and now plans to claim asylum in Buenos Aires.
Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mail Jen said: 'Initially I just wanted to travel for a bit and I'd always wanted to go to Latin America.
I ended up in Buenos Aires and then all this happened with the Supreme Court.
'I'm looking at my options but I do have the option to apply for asylum. I've been talking to various LGBT groups here to judge whether that's feasible and they seem to think that I would have a case.
'They watch what's happening - the Supreme Court ruling, the Cass Review, and now these rules banning trans people from all sorts of things.
'I'm still seeking advice on it, but that's what I'm intending to do.'
Jen believes life has become much harder for transgender people in Scotland in the last decade and said things are 'only going in one direction'.
She said: 'A decade ago I had the opportunity to medically transition, there was a process I went through.
'People were given help and it was based on informed consent and self-determination.
'That process now just doesn't exist. Within half a decade all of that has been taken away. It really alarms me how quickly rights are being degraded for trans people.
'When you zoom out and you look at it, this is only going to go one direction and life for people like me is just going to keep getting worse.
'I don't want to be worrying about whether I'm going to get beaten up, arrested, or killed just for who I am'.
Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital, is known as the 'gay capital of South America' and is considered one of the friendliest places for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
In 2012 the country passed a law that allowed transgender people to change their gender on official documents without the need for medical intervention such as surgery, hormone therapy or psychological assessment.
Trans people are treated according to the gender they identify with and medical treatment for transitioning is included in the country's compulsory medical programme.
In 2021 the country introduced a quota to have one per cent of public sector jobs filled by trans people.
Jen said the way she is viewed in Argentina is markedly different than in Scotland, despite the country being ruled by chainsaw-weilding right-winger Javier Milei, whose nickname is 'the madman'.
She said: 'The issue is just not on people's radar like it is in Scotland. I walk down the street here and I'm just another woman walking down the street.
'That is such a weight off my shoulders.
'When I was in Scotland I just constantly felt on edge. I used to work in retail and the kind of abuse that I would get - I had people stalking me.'
Since the Supreme court ruling the Equality and Human Rights Commission issued updated guidance stating trans women could no longer use women's toilets and trans men couldn't use men's toilets.
It also added that 'in some circumstances' it is not permitted for trans women to use men's facilities and vice versa, leaving many public bodies and charities asking for clarity about where trans people are supposed to go.
Asked about the guidance Jen said:' The answer is trans people are not meant to use any public facilities at all, that's what it seems like.
'These kind of guidelines are designed to be vague and confusing. It's also impossible to police - how are they going to do that? Have someone inspect people as they go into the toilet?'
Since the ruling, pressure has grown on former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to comment publicly which she has so far refused to do.
The Sunday Mail has made repeated attempts to contact Sturgeon but interview requests have been declined.
In 2017 she was in charge when the Gender Recognition Act was proposed for reform in Scotland, aligning it with countries such as Argentina, Ireland and Portugal.
The move to legislate and make it easier for trans people to change their gender is seen by some as the catalyst for the so-called 'culture war' that has developed over the last eight years.
It has seen gender-critical and transgender-supporting groups at loggerheads, led to members of both groups being verbally and physically abused at rallies and ultimately ended in the Supreme Court.
Jen said Sturgeon's silence was 'not surprising' and said: 'It doesn't surprise me that Sturgeon is washing her hands of it. You look at the DNA of the SNP - they believe the party and country are one in the same.
'As soon as the wind blows in a different direction they will drop it. As soon as trans people become inconvenient to the survival of the SNP or to Scotland becoming an independent country they're going to throw them by the wayside.
'I genuinely don't know what [Sturgeon] believes. Her whole career she was a chameleon, so who knows if she actually does support trans people or if it was just part of her attempt to seem progressive.'
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