Thread about the Scottish Trans Alliance,which seems to pop up in every trans-rights media story, which seems to have influence throughout the UK regarding trans issues.
STA is listed in the ScotGov Equalities funding page as an ‘intermediary body’; these ‘play an important role in the policymaking process’. But it isn’t a body at all: it has no corporate or legal existence. STA as such does not exist.
It is fact a government funded *project* carried out by The Equality Network (also listed separately as an Intermediary Body, and is a registered company and charity.)
STA began as a very small grant of £2k to EN back in 2007. Even then it was referred to as a ‘partnership’ with the ‘Transgender Alliance’ – which didn’t seem to exist then, any more than it does now. Since then it has grown to a grant of £181k (2018).
This grant funds 2 FT staff, ‘a number’ of PT staff, and a website, and they: train, research, network, focus groups, ‘develop policy’. Its staff as employees will report to the head of EN and the Board of the EN – in total, 7 people. EN gets 91% of its funding from ScotGov.
The STA: a ScotGov project, 100% funded, carried out by EN, 91% Scotgov funded. These groups are, in effect, wholly sub-contractors of government.
Does any of this matter? Well, STA have been quoted by the Herald, The Times, the Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday, the BBC, STV, The Guardian, CommonSpace, the Ferret, Scotland on Sunday, Cosmopolitan>>
>>Pink News, HuffPost, The National and others, many, many times over, without any of them pointing out ( or being aware?) that they are in effect quoting the government.
( Little shout-out to @ScottishLegal, who did disclose this in their coverage).
I don’t think a funded, national support org for trans people is a bad idea. I think research (properly done) into trans needs & experience is a good idea. I think that a *tiny* group of people claiming to be the experts on all policy re: trans and, worse, >>
>> on policy that will impinge on the rights and quality of life of women & girls (about which they have ZERO expertise) is an absolutely terrible idea.
Also Government sub-contracting research and policy isn’t in itself a bad idea. But a government pretending that these orgs are independent, quoting them as experts, and allowing them to dominate consultations is worse than a bad idea: >>
it’s a lie, and one that is damaging to the ‘civic Scotland’ ScotGov is so proud of.
And a government allowing a tiny group to have what would appear to be massive influence on ‘policy makers, public bodies, employees, service providers’, highlighting especially ‘the NHS, prisons, the justice system’ (EN Annual Report 2018) is unbalanced and disproportionate.
Further Reading: STA’s main man gives some insight into tactics and influence, here: mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_ri…
