Latest news with #GenderRecognitionReform
The Herald Scotland
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Sturgeon: Some gender reform critics are driven by prejudice
She also revealed she had received horrific abuse in recent days, saying "people who call themselves feminists, standing up for women's rights" had laughed at her miscarriage and wished for her to be raped. READ MORE Ms Sturgeon has undertaken a number of media interviews and public events in recent days following the publication of her memoir, Frankly. In the book she writes that she should have considered pausing her bid to change the law. MSPs passed the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill in December 2023, aiming to speed up and simplify the process for a trans person to obtain a gender recognition certificate and change their legal sex. Under the current system, the process takes at least two years, involves a medical diagnosis and is only available to those aged 18 and over. Holyrood's Bill would have cut the waiting time to six months, lowered the age threshold to 16, and scrapped the need for a medical diagnosis — often described as self-identification. Before it could become law, the then Conservative Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack, blocked it using the first-ever order under Section 35 of the 1998 Scotland Act. First Minister John Swinney has since ruled out revisiting the legislation, saying it is beyond the powers of the Scottish Parliament and his government 'quite simply cannot proceed with it'. During a discussion with broadcaster Kirsty Wark, Ms Sturgeon was asked about the language she used to describe some critics of her gender reforms, including calling them transphobic. The Glasgow Southside MSP conceded that this had closed people out of the conversation, but said she had always caveated her remarks by making clear it was not true of all opponents. 'I am not saying everybody falls into this activity, but I am sorry, I do not care what side of this debate you are on, I defy anybody to say that there are not supporters of Trump, of Putin, of Erdoğan, and people here, supporters of people like Farage, who fall into these categories and have chosen to take on this issue. 'It is the soft underbelly of other prejudice. And I am sorry, I find it really hard to believe that even people who passionately disagree with me cannot see that.' Ms Wark told Ms Sturgeon that as first minister her job should have been to bring people together, asking if she had been 'inclusive enough in these conversations'. 'Probably not, no,' Ms Sturgeon replied. 'I do not think I was.' She added: 'The debate is toxic on both sides of this debate. It is not all one way, and sometimes it is presented as if it is. 'I have had, just in the last couple of days — and I do not spend a lot of time looking at the bowels of social media — occasion to see people on the other side of this debate. Not faceless bots, but real people. 'People who call themselves feminists, standing up for women's rights, saying things about me such as, when I described my miscarriage experience the other day, 'I have not laughed as much in years,' and accusing me of making it up. People saying they hope I am raped in a toilet. 'So these are the kind of things that go in both directions at the end.' READ MORE While she insisted not all opponents of gender reform are transphobic or homophobic, Ms Sturgeon said she had been worried that pausing the legislation would have meant 'giving in to that', but added: 'I might have been wrong, and I probably was wrong about that.' Speaking later to journalists, Ms Sturgeon said the abuse she had received made her concerned for the state of democracy. She said she had not contacted police over the comments. 'Of course, allegations of criminality should be reported to the police, but I think in terms of online abuse, sometimes we just have to kind of all take a step back and stop doing it, rather than think that the recourse is always to go to the police. 'I do not look at it very often. I try not to, but it makes me deeply concerned, not for myself so much as for the state of democracy. 'I speak to young women, young men as well, who are interested in politics, who would love to think about going into politics, but actually think that they could not do it because of the abuse. 'And if we carry on down that road, then democracy is in an even worse state than sometimes it appears it is right now. 'As a frontline politician for three decades, I am not without responsibility for the state of public discourse. "I have got to take my share of collective responsibility, but I think we have also all got to just stop shouting abuse at each other, and take a step back and try to find a way of disagreeing, but doing it a bit more agreeably than we seem to be capable of right now.'
STV News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- STV News
Nicola Sturgeon: 'Women not owed apology over trans debate'
Nicola Sturgeon has said she does not owe women an apology over her support of controversial gender reforms. Speaking to reporters after an event to launch her memoir on Thursday, the former first minister said she won't say sorry to people on the other side who feel vilified for their views. 'No, I won't apologise,' Sturgeon replied. 'People on both sides of this debate are vilified. I've been vilified and received some awful abuse – nothing like the abuse trans people are getting right now. 'I tried to stand up for rights of one of most stigmatised minorities in the country. I don't believe that is in conflict with the rights of women which I have stood up for and will continue to stand up for.' Sturgeon's gender reform legislation was designed to make it easier for trans people to change their legal gender without a lengthy medical process. Despite fierce opposition from some women's rights campaigners who feared it would give biological males access to female spaces, it was passed in Scotland with cross-party support. But the Gender Recognition Reform was never enacted after it was blocked by Westminster. The former SNP leader often faces criticism for the way she has handled it. The former SNP leader has since admitted she should have paused the legislation and said she didn't anticipate some of the concerns that would be triggered. Sturgeon said she respects the view of people who disagree with her, but she said she 'deeply regrets the way in which some are punching down on trans people who have done nothing to harm anybody'. At the event on Thursday, Sturgeon said people who call themselves feminists have laughed at her miscarriage on social media, which she revealed in her memoir, and said they want her to be 'raped in a toilet'. 'I will continue to stand up for women's rights and I will continue to stand up trans rights,' she said after the event. 'I didn't come into politics to back away from the things I believe in because it got a bit difficult for me personally.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
STV News
16 hours ago
- Politics
- STV News
Sturgeon: 'People who call themselves feminists laughed at my miscarriage'
Nicola Sturgeon has said people who call themselves feminists have laughed at her miscarriage and said they want her to be 'raped in a toilet' on social media. Although the former first minister said she does not 'spend a lot of time looking at the bowels of social media', she said she has seen several offensive comments about herself in the last few days. Speaking at an Edinburgh International Book Festival event to launch her memoir, Frankly on Thursday, Sturgeon said the comments have come from people on the other side of the gender reform and trans rights debate. She said the abuse is coming from people who are calling themselves feminists who stand up for women's rights. Sturgeon's gender reform legislation was designed to make it easier for trans people to change their legal gender without a lengthy medical process. Despite fierce opposition from some women's rights campaigners who feared it would give biological males access to female spaces, it was passed in Scotland with cross-party support. But the Gender Recognition Reform was never enacted after it was blocked by Westminster. Sturgeon often faces criticism for the way she has handled it. The former SNP leader has since admitted she should have paused the legislation and said she didn't anticipate some of the concerns that would be triggered. Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, she called the argument 'toxic on both sides'. 'People on the other side of this debate – not names you'd recognise, but not faceless bots either – are saying things about me, and these people who call themselves feminists that are standing up for women's rights, such as when I described my miscarriage experience, saying 'I haven't laughed as much in years',' Sturgeon said. 'They're accusing me of making it up. People are saying they hope I am raped in a toilet. And I don't think that is just at the extreme.' Sturgeon was asked on Thursday about why she did not hit pause on her gender reform legislation when the debate began to become divisive. 'I don't think everyone who disagrees with me on this issue is transphobic or homophobic, but this whole issue has been hijacked by people who are,' Sturgeon answered. 'I perhaps worried that to pause the legislation at that time would be to give in to that. I probably was wrong about that.' Sturgeon also wished former SNP MSP Joanna Cherry, who has been among the loudest internal critics of her party's former leader, good luck with a memoir she said she is currently writing. 'Having just written a memoir, I wish anyone well who's embarking on this,' Sturgeon said. 'The only other thing I'll say is that there are certain people in this world who spend a lot more time thinking about me than I spend thinking about them.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
The National
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Kate Forbes faces ban from Edinburgh arts venue over trans views
Summerhall Arts issued an apology for the 'oversight' of letting the Deputy First Minister speak at an event last week due to her past comments according to The Daily Mail, including against Scotland's gender reforms. She is a member of the Free Church of Scotland and said she would not have backed same-sex marriage if she had been an MSP at the time of the 2014 vote. Forbes also previously said she would not have backed the Scottish Government's Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill had she not been on maternity leave. READ MORE: John Swinney interview: The FM on indyref2, Israel, energy and more Forbes had appeared on August 7 as part of the Herald's Unspun Live at the Fringe – which saw a number of politicians and commentators take to the stage. The venue's management said they will now develop 'robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that would prevent this oversight in our bookings process happening again'. Gender critical campaigners have hit out at the move, suggesting it may be illegal – citing the Stand comedy club, which was forced to reinstate a show featuring ex-SNP MP Joanna Cherry at the Fringe two years ago. The venue had initially planned to cancel her show because of her trans views before then U-turning when threatened with legal action. Responding, Kate Forbes said: 'As I stated at the event, I fervently believe in freedom of speech. Any effort to 'cancel' people, especially politicians, undermines democracy. 'Many people attended The Herald event and it is important that we could freely discuss and debate matters in a respectful manner. 'I respect and acknowledge the fact that in a liberal democracy there are people who will agree with me and others who will disagree with me. 'That is all the more reason to create events where the audience and journalists can question politicians openly, as The Herald did.' A source at Summerhall Arts told The Daily Mail: 'This event was booked as a series of longform interviews prior to the guest list being confirmed. "Summerhall Arts' primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of the artists and performers we work with, and going forward we will be developing robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that would prevent this oversight in our bookings process happening again. "Summerhall Arts issued a communication to all artists making them aware of the event."
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Kate Forbes may be banned from Scottish arts venue over trans views
Summerhall Arts issued an apology for the 'oversight' of letting the Deputy First Minister speak at an event last week due to her past comments according to The Daily Mail, including against Scotland's gender reforms. She is a member of the Free Church of Scotland and said she would not have backed same-sex marriage if she had been an MSP at the time of the 2014 vote. Forbes also previously said she would not have backed the Scottish Government's Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill had she not been on maternity leave. READ MORE: John Swinney interview: The FM on indyref2, Israel, energy and more Forbes had appeared on August 7 as part of the Herald's Unspun Live at the Fringe – which saw a number of politicians and commentators take to the stage. The venue's management said they will now develop 'robust, proactive inclusion and wellbeing policies that would prevent this oversight in our bookings process happening again'. Gender critical campaigners have hit out at the move, suggesting it may be illegal – citing the Stand comedy club, which was forced to reinstate a show featuring ex-SNP MP Joanna Cherry at the Fringe two years ago. The venue had initially planned to cancel her show because of her trans views before then u-turning when threatened with legal action. Resounding, Kate Forbes said: 'As I stated at the event, I fervently believe in freedom of speech. Any effort to 'cancel' people, especially politicians, undermines democracy. 'Many people attended the Herald event and it is important that we could freely discuss and debate matters in a respectful manner. 'I respect and acknowledge the fact that in a liberal democracy there are people who will agree with me and others who will disagree with me. 'That is all the more reason to create events where the audience and journalists can question politicians openly, as the Herald did.'
