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This blog by @S_A_Somerville confirms our fears re the Scottish government's complete failure to understand women's concerns re their GRA proposals, or indeed to understand the wider issues due to changes to female-only provision. It is also incredibly concerning that in respect>
>to women's & trans rights, Shirley only said that we should all unite around transphobia, with no mention of misogyny at all, despite the recent misogynist attacks on MSP's & the recent violent threats made towards women & a grassroots feminist group - all from trans activists.>
>Our group will be sending a letter to Nicola Sturgeon next week, which we will publish here too (& which people will be able to support in writing too) in order to address some of the recent issues in this debate, but also to highlight that we have a report due out in May, >
>which will demonstrate how changes to female only provision are impacting on women & girls in Scotland, & eroding our rights & equality. We have surveyed 2000 women, & we have also additionally spoken to women working in Scotland's women's services, as well as prison staff, and>
>women who are currently terrified of being faced with a male person in a women's service they need to use, but equally terrified of asking for a female only service. Indeed our group has already had to step in to act for a very distressed woman in this very position, & we would>
>like women to know that we are happy to engage with any services on their behalf. Our report will also include our own impact assessment, since the govt did not do its own, & it will also address how both the EHRC & the UK Equality Office has said that a GRC *does* impact on >
>how the Equality Act exceptions can be used, & we will show how the GRC makes the exceptions very difficult to use as well, &, for e.g., has led to a situation in Scotland where women can no longer be guaranteed female-only healthcare when it has been agreed. We will also be >
>making it very clear that the issue is not about men taking advantage of self ID, this is an *additional issue*, the issue with self ID is that will make a bad situation a lot worse for women in Scotland, a situation the Scottish government hasn't taken the time to even try to >
>understand, and as such it is left to people like us - unpaid and mostly working class women - to carry out the work they haven't. And our work will show how women are being failed in Scotland & we look forward to engaging with the government on addressing those failures.
