John Swinney has been called on to urgently implement new guidance which says toilets and changing rooms must be based on biological sex.
The First Minister is under pressure to push through changes which exclude trans people from women only spaces.
It comes more than a year after a landmark Supreme Court ruling which clarified that “woman” and “sex” in equality legislation refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
New guidance by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, and approved by UK Ministers, says that single sex spaces must be based on biological sex.
A trans woman – a biological male who identifies as a woman – should not use female toilets or changing rooms, according to the code of practice.
The code says trans people should instead be offered a third or a gender-neutral space.
OPINIONChris McCall
The SNP Government is in favour of trans rights and has been criticised for an earlier reaction to EHRC statements.
Tory equalities spokesperson Meghan Gallacher demanded urgent implementation of the new code:
“It should never have taken Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government this long to publish common-sense guidance following the crystal clear ruling from the Supreme Court over a year ago.
“All public bodies and organisations across the UK should be following the law but in SNP-run Scotland that is shamefully still not the case.
“John Swinney has spent the last year dithering instead of guaranteeing the safety of women and girls in single-sex spaces and has even squandered taxpayers’ money on defending men being housed in women’s prisons.
“He should stop bowing to the gender extremists in his own party and the Greens and get on with implementing the Supreme Court ruling without any further delay.”
SNP Social Justice Cabinet Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said:
“We note the publication of the Code of Practice and will consider it carefully pending approval by the UK Parliament.
“It remains the responsibility of employers and service providers to interpret and comply with their legal obligations including the Equality Act 2010.
“As the First Minister has made clear, the Scottish Government accepts the judgment of the Supreme Court. The Equality Act also expressly prohibits discrimination and harassment against trans people, who are valued members of our society and are entitled to dignity, respect and protection under the law and in all areas of life.”
The code of practice is aimed at guiding businesses and other organisations such as leisure centres and hospitals on how they can follow equality law.
This includes single and separate-sex services such as toilets and changing rooms.
The guidance reads: “In separate or single-sex services, a trans man will be excluded from the men-only service because his sex is female, and a trans woman will be excluded from the women-only service because her sex is male.”
A draft code was handed to ministers by the EHRC in September and the Government has faced criticism for the delay in publishing it.
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The Prime Minister’s spokeswoman rejected a suggestion it was choosing to publish on the last day before Parliament breaks up for recess in an attempt to bury bad news.