What is Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill? Why is it so controversial?

The Scottish Parliament has voted to pass controversial new gender recognition laws to put Edinburgh on course for a clash with Westminster.

But what is the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill? Why is it so controversial? Who has been opposing the legislation? And will it definitely come into force?

Here, MailOnline provides some answers: 

What is the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill? 

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill will make it easier for trans people to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC), which is legal recognition of their acquired gender.

It will introduce a system of self-declaration for obtaining a GRC and remove the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

It will also lower the minimum age for applicants from 18 to 16 and drop the time required for an applicant to live in their acquired gender from two years to three months, although with a subsequent, three-month reflection period.

While it was debated by MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, changes were made to the legislation to mean 16 and 17-year-olds will have to live in their acquired gender for six months rather than three before applying for a GRC.

There will also be a new statutory aggravation to the offence of making a fraudulent application for a GRC.

And anyone subject to a sexual harm prevention order or sexual offences prevention order will not be allowed to seek a GRC. 

Why is it so controversial?

Those who have campaigned against the legislation have said it will impact the safety of women and single-sex spaces.

They have criticised a lack of safeguards to protect women and girls from predatory men, raising concerns about environments like women’s prisons.

Some have warned it is not appropriate to allow 16-year-olds to decide on such a profound change in their lives.

And the legislation has also sparked concerns about ‘gender tourism’ to Scotland from other parts of the UK, where gender legislation is not being changed.

It has been suggested a transgender woman could travel to Scotland to have their gender legally changed, then use their new official status to access female-only spaces in other nations.

What do the bill’s supporters say?

Campaigners in favour of the bill have said the move to make trans peoples’ lives easier is long overdue.

A group of LGBT+ groups recently issued a joint letter saying the bill is an ‘historic opportunity to continue Scotland’s journey towards full social and legal equality’.

They disagree that an expansion of trans peoples’ rights comes at the expense of women’s rights and insisted the bill will have little impact outside the trans community. 

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, whose SNP-led Scottish Government pushed through the bill, has said the current system of medical diagnoses was ‘intrusive, traumatic and dehumanising’.

Scottish ministers have also argued that reducing the minimum age for applicants for a GRC is in line with the age at which young people acquire a number of rights –  such as the right to legally marry or enter a civil partnership without parental consent. 

Will the legislation definitely come into force?

No, not necessarily. The UK Government has said it may try and block the controversial bill from becoming law.

Under the Scotland Act, the UK Government can challenge devolved legislation if it feels it impacts on national security or reserved matters. 

It means Scottish Secretary Alistair Jack is now able to legally challenge the legislation if he believes it impacts on the wider UK.

Non-government opponents will also be able to take legal action if they wish to do so.

In a statement after the final vote, Mr Jack said the UK Government will consider action in the Supreme Court.

‘We share the concerns that many people have regarding certain aspects of this bill, and in particular the safety issues for women and children,’ he said.

‘We will look closely at that, and also the ramifications for the 2010 Equality Act and other UK-wide legislation, in the coming weeks – up to and including a Section 35 order stopping the Bill going for Royal Assent if necessary.’

What has JK Rowling said about it?

One of the leading critics of the bill has been Harry Potter author JK Rowling.

She recently posted a picture of herself on social media wearing a T-shirt calling Ms Sturgeon a ‘destroyer of women’s rights’.

Of the gender reform bill, the author has previously said: ‘Soon, then, in Scotland, it may be easier to change the sex on your birth certificate than it is to change it on your passport.

‘In consequence, intact males who are judged to have met the meagre requirements will be considered as “valid” and entitled to protections as those who’ve had full sex reassignment surgery.

‘And more male-bodied individuals will assert more strongly a right to be in women’s spaces such as public bathrooms, changing rooms, rape support centres, domestic violence refuges, hospital wards and prison cells that were hitherto reserved for women.’