On Saturday 17th August, the BBC reported that a legal action had been lodged against the Scottish Government, claiming rules on transgender people in custody and transgender pupils in schools are “in clear breach” of the Supreme Court judgement in April.
But coming on the same day as far right, violent, male misogynists took to the streets of Scotland, legal action targeting transgender people is not going to strengthen women’s and children’s rights.
Let us start with prisons. No woman deserves to be held in the conditions that prevail in the woman’s estate, Pregnant women are being incarcerated both on remand and on short term sentences, there have been reports of women who have been left handcuffed while about to give birth, and children have spent the first year of their life in prison with their incarcerated mothers.
Meanwhile an increasing number of young and elderly women face long periods of remand and possibly sentence for politicised crimes against property. Women in prison face significant dangers relating to violence from other inmates & staff, from self-harm, and from inadequate support for their health and well-being. Many women in prison have already experienced trauma, including domestic violence and childhood abuse, and this can be exacerbated by the prison environment. An ocean of social change, prison reform and decriminalisation is needed, and the blame for all ills does not lie at the door of the highly publicised case of Isla Bryson.
Children’s rights. Conversion practices can amount to torture and should be banned according to the United Nations; and surely Scotland’s children deserve a full ban on such practices. A Scottish Bill for a full ban has the support of LGBT+ lobbying groups, of two thirds of Scots, and is backed by Children in Scotland, by the Church of Scotland, by the Humanist Society Scotland, by the Mental Health Foundation, by the Royal College of General Practitioners, by the Royal College of Nurses, by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and by a general consensus of scientific opinion.
Nonetheless the bill has been opposed in full or in part by a mix of faith, family values, and “gender critical” groups; while the UK Government, having made a manifesto commitment to a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, seems unlikely to deliver.
Lived experience and expert opinion has always been a cornerstone of Scottish legislation, but the bill has become “controversial” in the eyes of the press and “legally complex” in the eyes of the Scottish Government. As a result it has been shelved, along with an equally vital bill on fighting misogyny.
As a leading lawyer put it, “part of a wider retreat in the face of “anti-woke” sentiment”, while, as one activist put it, “Some of the controversy around plans to ban conversion therapy is reminiscent of arguments used in the 1980s”.
A lost opportunity to do something good for children’s rights.
To conclude, will targeting transgender people strengthen women’s and children’s rights? No. Are trans people the threat? No.
If anyone wants to see the real threat to women’s and children’s rights they need look no further than that far right rally on a sunny August afternoon in Falkirk. The Nazi salute and “Kill ‘Em all, Let God Sort ‘Em Out” banner brigade. The rally of violent men, the kind with the previous reports for domestic violence, the kind with the battered wife and the kids in care.
When the far right were out on the streets on Saturday they were targeting asylum seekers, but they are no friends of anyone L, G, B or T either. At the moment we are just next in line for the banter and the bashing.
But trans people are not going away. You might see us party, but you’ll also see us with our rainbow trade union flags when the far right turn up. You’ll also see our trans flags on the Palestine protests, and our banner when we stand in support of abortion rights. The message from our allies is clear, we are welcome here.
References
Campaigners lodge legal action over gender rules for schools and prisons.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp37znd8vx1o
Campaigners say anti-asylum hotel protesters are ‘extremists’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czxy19kdxnyo
Concerns surface over number of pregnant women being given short-term prison sentences in Scotland
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/pregnant-women-prison-concerns-raised-liberal-democrats-criminal-justice-system-scottish-government-a8304561.html
Scottish Prison Service letter – Transgender prisoner management
https://www.gov.scot/publications/transgender-prisoner-management-urgent-case-review-correspondence/pages/scottish-prison-service-letter/
‘Conversion therapy’ can amount to torture and should be banned says UN expert | OHCHR
https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2020/07/conversion-therapy-can-amount-torture-and-should-be-banned-says-un-expert
2 in 3 Scots support banning conversion therapy – Equality Network
https://www.equality-network.org/2-in-3-scots-support-banning-conversion-therapy/
Children in Scotland Ending Conversion Practices in Scotland consultation response https://share.google/O2zIuUSlGB8eUty1e
[Church sets out position on ending conversion practices in Scotland | The Church of Scotland
https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news-and-events/news/archive/2024/church-sets-out-position-on-ending-conversion-practices-in-scotland
Scottish government shelves conversion practices bill: our response – Humanist Society Scotland
https://www.humanism.scot/2025/05/20/scottish-government-shelves-conversion-practices-bill-our-response/
Mental Health Foundation Scotland submits response to Scottish Government’s petition on conversion therapy | Mental Health Foundation
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/blogs/mental-health-foundation-scotland-submits-response-scottish-governments-petition-conversion-therapy
Ban on ‘conversion therapy’ should protect all LGBT people
https://www.rcgp.org.uk/news/conversion-therapy-ban
RCN Ending Conversion practices in Scotland
https://share.google/igt3JdHwIfFYc54ls
Government should reconsider its plans to not ban conversion therapy for transgender people
https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/news-and-features/latest-news/detail/2022/04/01/government-should-reconsider-its-plans-to-not-ban-conversion-therapy-for-transgender-people
Consensus against conversion therapy
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9972/
Is the government on course to introduce a ‘full trans-inclusive ban’ on conversion practices? – Full Fact
https://fullfact.org/government-tracker/trans-conversion-practices-ban/
Scottish ministers drop plans to outlaw misogyny and conversion practices | Gender | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/02/scottish-ministers-drop-plans-outlaw-misogyny-conversion-practices
Baroness Kennedy: Dropping misogyny law sign of wider retreat – BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0el3j5j021o
Conversion therapy debate takes me back to the 1980s | The Herald
https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/24059438.conversion-therapy-debate-takes-back-1980s/
Two in five arrested for last summer’s UK riots had been reported for domestic abuse | Domestic violence | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jul/26/two-in-five-arrested-for-last-summers-uk-riots-had-been-reported-for-domestic-abuse
Resisting Transphobia in Edinburgh 