The Times- Sturgeon stands firm in row over trans rights
Sturgeon stands firm in row over trans rights
Nicola Sturgeon has declined to define the characteristics of a woman, insisting that oversimplifying the gender debate risks harming trans people who are the “most stigmatised and discriminated against minorities in our society”.
The first minister said she would argue “until my dying breath” that there was no conflict between women’s rights and trans rights as new reforms making it easier for people to change their sex go through Holyrood.
Sir Keir Starmer, the UK Labour leader, has struggled to say whether a woman can have a penis as he argued that debates on trans rights need to be done differently. Boris Johnson, the prime minister, has said “biology” is a fundamental factor when distinguishing between a man and woman.
In an interview with The Times, Sturgeon refused to define the word “woman”, saying: “I’m not going to, I’m just not going to get into this debate at a level that’s about simplified and lurid headlines.”
The first minister added: “Trans people are amongst, possibly the most, stigmatised and discriminated against minorities in our society.b
“And every time we oversimplify this debate, trans people actually suffer and I think it’s important, they’re such a tiny minority, that we actually take the issues around protecting and enhancing the rights of trans people seriously.”
For Women Scotland, the campaign group that advocates single-sex spaces in places such as changing rooms, hospital wards and prisons, has sought to make trans rights the defining issue in the council elections.
It has said that any prospective councillors from any party who could not give the dictionary definition — “adult human female” — when asked what a woman is could not be trusted.
Sturgeon said she was confident both that Holyrood would vote through gender reforms and that the SNP would remain united on the issue, despite several internal disputes.
She highlighted sexism and misogyny, which have been brought back into sharp focus in British politics in recent weeks, and spoke of “an assault that is worse than possibly any time in my lifetime on abortion rights” after Florida brought in a ban on most terminations after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
“These are the threats against women,” Sturgeon said. “I do not believe that trans rights and women’s rights are or should in any way be in conflict and I will argue that case until my dying breath. And that, I think, is the basis on which we should try to progress this debate.”
Sturgeon warned that a wave of misogynistic abuse threatens to bully women out of public life. She has been forced to increase her own personal security since becoming first minister and has faced multiple threats online.
Concerns have increased about politicians safety since the murders of Jo Cox, the Labour MP, and Sir David Amess, the Conservative MP, and MSPs have been given increased security at their homes.
There have been convictions for people targeting politicians in Scotland such as Susan Aitken, the Glasgow city council leader, whose female stalker was jailed for six months, and Shona Robison, the housing secretary, who was harassed by a businessman.
Sturgeon said strides had been taken to increase the number of women in elected office but “we’ve been going backwards in terms of the culture and how the public sphere feels for women”.
She added: “My worry is if we don’t sort that, then the progress we’ve made in representation over the years is going to start to go backwards as well.
“I know from speaking to younger women in my own party it’s just much tougher than it was when I was starting out. And there’s a sense that it’s not as safe a place as it used to be.”
Suggestions have been made that the sale of alcohol should be barred in the Houses of Parliament as part of measures to cut harassment by male politicians. She said: “Maybe there shouldn’t be so many bars but surely it’s just about men behaving themselves and being able to have bars without that leading to appalling behaviour.”
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