Yousaf: Trans women will be protected by misogyny law

Scotland’s first minister has said transgender women will be protected under any new misogyny laws.

Humza Yousaf insisted that “anyone affected” by misogyny would be covered, whatever their biological sex.

He also insisted the Scottish government would not spend an “inordinate” amount of time deciding whether to follow the recommendations of the recent Cass Review into gender care.

The Scottish government wants to introduce a bill to tackle misogyny before the end of the current parliamentary term in 2026, following a review carried out by the human rights lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.

Women were not included in the recent Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 that was introduced on 1 April – a decision that Mr Yousaf said had followed discussions with a number of women’s groups.

When asked whether fresh legislation would cover transgender women, Mr Yousaf said that it would, as whoever was directing misogynistic abuse would be unaware if a woman was trans or not.

He told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “Women and girls will be protected, and trans women will be protected as well, as they will often be the ones who suffer threats of rape or threats of disfigurement for example.

“When a trans woman is walking down the street and a threat of rape is made against them, the man making the threat doesn’t know if they are a trans woman or a cis woman. They will make that threat because the perception of that person [is] as a woman.”

The Sandyford clinic in Glasgow offers gender services

The first minister added that the bill would be proceeding with “urgency and pace”, due to the number of women who have “raised concerns” over sex not being covered within the recent hate crime bill.

Baroness Kennedy’s report had recommended the creation of a separate law to tackle “the spectrum of misogynistic conduct”, rather than including it in the hate crime law.

A government spokesperson previously said that a misogyny bill would “create a new focus on protecting women and girls to address criminal behaviour motivated purely by misogyny”.

Mr Yousaf also said that “all aspects” of the recent Cass review would be considered.

That could include halting puberty blockers – a move the NHS in England has already made after the Cass review stated there was “not enough evidence” for them.

‘Passing the buck’

However, the first minister dismissed any suggestion that the Sandyford clinic in Glasgow, which offers gender services, should be closed.

He said: “Sandyford provides, we know, some exceptional health care to some of those who are the most marginalised and vulnerable…not just young people, but we know, right across the spectrum.”

He added that the Scottish government would look into “exploring” more regional health centres and that ministers “won’t be taking an inordinate amount of time to consider” the review’s findings.

The Scottish Conservatives said the first minister was “stalling for time and passing the buck to clinicians”.

The party’s deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said: “It’s not good enough to say he and health boards need more time to look at Dr Cass’s report, and it’s an abdication of leadership not to pause the prescribing of puberty blockers in the interim.”