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CHAPTER 7: TRANSGENDER EQUALITY - MAKING PROGRESS
Introduction
7.1 The general gender duty includes the requirement to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment against transsexual people in the fields of employment and vocational training (including further and higher education).
7.2 Following consultation with the Scottish Transgender Alliance, we set out in our scheme our intention to go further than our legal requirements under the duty and include all those people who identify as transgender. Transgender is an all-embracing term for those people whose gender identity or presentation conflicts with the norms expected by the society they live in.
7.3 Our work on transgender equality and consultation told us that transgender people often experience discrimination and harassment in the workplace, as service users and in our communities. Equality issues for transgender people had not been a priority and there was a need to ensure equality matters for transgender people were understood and addressed across a range of issues. We therefore made making progress on transgender equality one of our gender equality objectives.
What we said we would do
7.4 Our scheme set out a number of pieces of work where we were already taking action to advance transgender equality; including funding a Scottish Transgender Alliance ( STA) development worker to ensure that transgender issues are integrated into national and local programmes to promote equality.
7.5 We also set out that we would:
- work with the public sector to highlight the needs of transgender men and women in the provision of services;
- continue to support the Inclusion Project as part of our work to improve NHS Scotland;
- consider the results from the social attitudes survey in regards to transgender equality; and
- internally, ensure that staff are fully aware of their responsibilities under existing legislation and ensure that appropriate guidance is in place and that training courses are offered to staff.
What we've done
Scottish Transgender Alliance
7.6 The funding we have provided to the STA has been key to our progress in this area over the last year:
- The STA has worked closely with the three national Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender ( LGBT) organisations and with the Scottish Government Equality Unit and HR, to support the inclusion of transgender equality issues fully within their own broader work on LGBT equality.
- The STA has been a key member of our LGBT Hearts and Minds Agenda Group, which was established to consider what needs to be done to tackle negative and discriminatory attitudes towards LGBT people. It published its report, Challenging Prejudice: Changing attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Scotland, in February 2008. Many of the recommendations are for the Scottish Government and we are currently preparing our response. There are specific recommendations relating to transgender people and these will help inform our future priorities.
- The STA has conducted a survey on the experiences of transgender people living in Scotland. The results have now been analysed and are due to be published in March 2008. We will disseminate these finding across the Government and have arranged for the STA to present these to Scottish Government analysts with a view to identifying further research needs.
7.7 We have worked with the STA to try to increase the awareness of transgender issues, rights and responsibilities across the public and private sectors. In March 2008, the Scottish Government Equality Unit gave a keynote speech at the STA conference for employers and service providers entitled 'Increasing Transgender Inclusion and Rights'. The conference also highlighted some of the organisations STA has been working in partnership with to address issues for transgender people and to promote transgender equality. These included a number of public bodies such as the Scottish Prison Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland.
7.8 We continue to work closely with the STA and are currently discussing longer-term funding with the organisation.
Inclusion Project (Fair For All - LGBT)
7.9 We have continued to provide support for Fair for All - LGBT as part of the Inclusion Project, which provides support to NHS Scotland to promote equality and diversity for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender service users and staff. Over the last year it has been very active in promoting change for transgender people, both through strategically influencing and changing hearts and minds.
7.10 The project has supported policy makers and planners to include transgender people's experience of healthcare in service design through development of an online transgender Equality Impact Assessment assistant, distribution of guidance on anticipated trans goods facilities and services legislation (in conjunction with Fair for All - Gender) and launching the Fair for All Health Topics resource at the NHS event in June 07.
7.11 Moving attitudes has been a key theme, with an LGBT training resource developed with NHS Education Scotland to be used as part of their equalities training programme and transgender training has been delivered to a range of people, from strategic influencers to front line staff.
7.12 A mutually beneficial partnership with the Scottish Transgender Alliance has seen us contribute to their governance and work in partnership over a range of topics in the health arena.
Scottish Social Attitudes Survey
7.13 In December 2007 we published the results of the discrimination module from the 2006 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey entitled Attitudes to Discrimination in Scotland: 2006. This highlighted that for the most part only a minority uphold a discriminatory outlook. However, the survey showed that discriminatory attitudes are more widespread about some groups than others and was particularly common in relation to someone who has had a sex change operation (a description designed to refer to a transgender person). The result from this survey highlights the need for us to continue to address the discrimination and harassment that transgender people in Scotland continue to experience.
Offence (Aggravation by Prejudice) (Scotland) Bill
7.14 There is evidence that some sections of society, such as transgender people, are more vulnerable and likely to experience harassment or crime motivated by prejudice than others. This is unjust and in October 2007 Patrick Harvie MSP lodged a proposal for a member's bill on Hate Crime. On 15 January 2008, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice announced that the Scottish Government will support Mr Harvie's bill.
7.15 The law already requires that, when passing sentence, the court must take into account any racial or religious motivation for any crime that has been committed. The proposed Bill will not create any new offences but will extend existing hate crime provisions to cover crime motivated by malice or ill will based on the victim's actual or presumed sexual orientation (whether lesbian, gay, bisexual or heterosexual), transgender identity or disability.
7.16 It is aimed to introduce the Bill in the Scottish Parliament by late spring 2008.
As an employer
7.17 Internally, we have published our gender re-assignment policy on our intranet pages and promoted it to staff through news articles. Two transgender training events were run for staff, managers and HR professionals in February and March 2008. These events allow participants to gain knowledge of transgender issues in a safe and supportive environment.
7.18 In addition, awareness of transgender issues in the workplace is a component of the one day diversity awareness training course which is available to all staff. We also publicise transgender events and information sessions being run by external organisations when available.
7.19 The Diversity Team continues to provide support and guidance in the workplace for both individual members of staff and their managers. This support and guidance is often given in conjunction with feedback/input from the LGBT network members.
7.20 The Network itself continues to be very active, holding regular meetings, including input from transgender organisations. Its confidential mailbox has proven a very valuable resource for putting transgender members of staff seeking support and guidance in touch with other transgender members.
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