Scottish Green Party flags on a demonstration

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been overwhelmed by the dangerous and ever-growing bigotry trans people are facing every day. To be honest, it’s been overwhelming for a while.

Amongst the demeaning ‘debates’, clickbait and social media storms, actual policy and legislation seems to have been left behind. Trans Rights are Human Rights, and any self-respecting person on the left would agree. Unfortunately, Labour’s time in government has already been marred by their easy acceptance of the Cass Report as Gospel. They are capitulating to pseudoscience and reactionary right-wing forces.

And now the very few clinicians in the country who were trained to provide trans healthcare are going above and beyond even the recommendations of the Cass Report and refusing to treat anyone under 25. This is what happens when ideology trumps medical expertise. The fact that the Cass Report has ties to international anti-trans people like Riitakertu Kaltiala and Patrick Hunter (who helped Ron de Santis with the Florida trans ban) shows you it’s not worth the paper it was scrawled on.

What’s so disingenuous about the UK Government’s position is that they say implementing a report (that has been internationally condemned) is respecting trans people.

I feel we are a long way from giving our trans and non-binary siblings the respect they deserve in our public discourse. I understand the fatigue amongst activists. To campaign for your rights on top of being marginalised, to be brought into unnecessary conflict with some of the most deranged voices in the UK, can make us want to run for the hills.

That is why as Rainbow Greens, we are bringing a motion to Scottish Green Party conference to ask our elected representatives to redouble their efforts to improve trans healthcare. Trans healthcare is a fundamental right, and to deny these rights often leads to suicide and other poor mental health outcomes.

A key part of the motion includes a call for the party’s MSPs to work with the National Gender Identity Healthcare Reference Group to ensure a Scottish Government-led review of trans healthcare that “directly involves trans people who have received, are currently receiving, or awaiting to receive gender affirming care”.

Part of this commitment is to show that we will not be frightened into hiding who we are, to combat misinformation and show that access to healthcare is fundamental.

There are some that feel we should go with the ‘four nations’ approach, where a restrictive trans healthcare plan is brought in across the UK. Even some in our party may think it’s more worthwhile to try and amend and get a few concessions as part of this idea. In a devolved system, where our democratic system is trashed regularly by Westminster, the fear of Section 35 means we have given up on any legislation that may be questioned by a UK government. That’s a sorry situation to be in when we have a separate legislature.

The fact that the number of trans people in Scotland is less than 1% yet our right to exist seems to preoccupy a much larger percentage is very telling of the normalisation of right-wing and fascistic tropes of dehumanisation. I appeal to those who may not have considered how LGBT+ people are used as a tool to scapegoat to really think about why this is happening. It’s not because there is a sudden epiphany that trans people are a danger to women and children. It’s because our discourse has been so eroded that such aggression and hate toward a particular group is not only tolerated but accepted.

I hope the motion passes because it will serve as the spark of a larger campaign that will include other political parties, charities and groups, all with the common aim of addressing the common misinformation around trans healthcare and setting a tone of respect and care.

This motion may not seem to be needed. Our party has been the most vocal supporter of trans rights across our councils and in our parliament. However, the Scottish Government abandoning supporting trans rights the moment they thought it would cost them politically shows that we need to keep addressing this injustice, to show solidarity, and to give the promise of a brighter future.

Image credit: Ric Lander – Creative Commons