The lives of transgender people are at risk of becoming “almost unliveable”, Nicola Sturgeon has said in her first public comments after the Supreme Court ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act referred only to a biological woman.
The former Scottish first minister has raised concerns on interim advice published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, amounting to a blanket ban on transgender people using toilets and other services of the gender they identify as, despite the judgment already being law.
Sturgeon also refused claims that she contributed to aiding the court ruling against trans people as the gender critical campaign group For Women Scotland used legislation she prompted in the Scottish parliament to support its case.
“The question for me, and I think for a lot of people, is how that is now translated into practice; can that be done in a way that, of course, protects women, but also allows trans people to live their lives with dignity and in a safe and accepted way,” she told reporters at the Scottish parliament on Tuesday.
“I would be very concerned if that interim guidance became the final guidance and I hope that is not the case because I think that potentially makes the lives of trans people almost unliveable.
“It certainly doesn’t make a single woman any safer to do that because the threat to women comes from predatory and abusive men.”
The former SNP leader added that while the judgment would not necessarily make life “impossibly difficult” for transgender people, there was a risk that some interpretations of it could threaten transgender rights.
Her intervention comes after a Labour peer said trans people are being forced to “seek asylum abroad” over safety concerns following the landmark ruling.
Speaking in the House of Lords, Lord Cashman said: “Currently, trans people in this country live in fear; they live in fear of their safety and their futures. Indeed, some friends are now looking at seeking asylum in countries where they will not fear for their safety but will receive a welcome.”
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