Every year on 31 March, Transgender Day of Visibility is celebrated to honour the transgender community across the globe and recognize the challenges they face. Albeit an important day, what is questionable is how much it truly represents the community it strives to exhibit. Although we experience an explosion of transgender-related activity for 24 hours on social media, our newsfeeds swamped with a host of positive memes and self-affirming selfies leading the charge – this is unfortunately not enough to highlight what is needed to improve this community’s lifestyle.

Only through real life situations can we truly attempt to understand the issues at bay. Edinburgh native James Morton was 24 years old when his employers became aware that he was transgender. He applied for a pension scheme which required him to provide his birth certificate, and due to a data protection error, was subsequently outed to his colleagues. This lead to Morton being scrutinized in his workplace because of his gender identity. The traumatic time “very much made me think that I do not want this document [his birth certificate] undermining my privacy” said Morton of the decision to change his gender marker in the eyes of British law.

In order to achieve a legal transition, one must apply for what is known as a ‘tribunal.’ This possesses the power to issue a gender recognition certificate (GRC) that would allow Morten to change his birth certificate. To be successful in this process, an applicant needs to be able to provide to the panel clear evidence of living in the ‘acquired gender’ for at least two years. Additionally, they also must produce a detailed medical and psychiatric report, outlining a diagnosis of gender dysmorphia and any relevant treatment or surgery. At the moment, there is no requirement to undergo sex reassignment surgery as a means of eligibility for the GRC in the United Kingdom. In Morton’s case, his petition was approved after what he describe as a “pedantic, burdensome process.”

Scotland is one of the only countries that is taking a proactive approach to improve the lives of transgender people. In a bid to align themselves with other European countries, the Scottish aim to ease the existing pathway which is criticized for its intrusive and expensive methods. The simplified revision in Scotland would consist of the removal of both a panel and medical reports as a requirement for evidence. Current applicants are expected to provide 24 months’ worth of proof of living in accordance with one’s gender identity, however Scotland aim to change this condition to be just three months. Other measures include reducing the minimum age of recognition to 16 as opposed to 18.

A consultation for a new draft began in December 2019, which was approved by some of the country’s largest feminine groups, such as Engender. Equally, many people in the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) including Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon are advocates for this new, more inclusive and humane procedure. However, this law amongst other areas of legislation have now been placed on hold while officials work to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Scotland is paving a transformative pathway that hopefully will beckon other parts of the United Kingdom to follow suit. At the beginning of April, the Scottish government released a letter to trans activists expressing the “strong commitment to reform the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and improve the current process for trans people.”

Despite the seemingly positive benefits of these changes for the transgender community, it has been met with great opposition. Fair Play for Women are a campaign group that opposes the inclusion of trans women in women’s sports. They claim that “the Scottish government is creating a loophole for predators and pretenders to exploit it.” They warned that male prisoners in Scotland could change their gender marker by obtaining a GRC and access women’s prisons in England and Wales, adding that “your son or daughter could apply for a GRC” in their first week of university in Scotland and “have a new birth certificate by the time they start the next semester in the new year.” Figures obtained by the BBC reveal the number of transgender hate crimes recorded by police in England, Scotland and Wales had risen by 81 percent. With Scotland’s active steps, what is needed is a revitalization of humanity and peacefulness towards this community across the entirety of the U.K.

Transgender people have their existence debated on a daily basis across U.K. media, with some activists believing that this negative attention reinforces the poor treatment they receive on our streets. The increased visibility of transgender people in public life by itself does not equate to the equity they should be accorded by the society they live in. Although a lengthy process, the first step towards a peaceful change within the United Kingdom is allowing contemporary issues that impact trans people’s lives to be made known to our society. Scotland cannot be a single movement, but rather the first pillar of solidarity in which the rest of the U.K. can join.

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