The City of Edinburgh Council has come under fire for allowing gender-confused men to join its support service for women offenders.
The Willow Service, which helps over 500 women a year, provides group and one-to-one support in locations such as prisons. But according to figures obtained via freedom of information, nine men have used the service over the last few years.
The Council refused to apologise over the practice, claiming that it “offers a gender specific service to women who are or have been involved with the Justice System, irrespective of whether they were born female at birth or not”.
‘Crystal clear’
Dr Kath Murray, co-founder of policy analysis group Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, debunked the Council’s claim that the UK Supreme Court’s (UKSC) recent ruling does not require it to provide single-sex services.
She stated: “The UKSC ruling was crystal clear: organisations which offer services or spaces for women can only be for biological females.
“It is well documented that most women in the criminal justice system have histories of sexual and domestic abuse, alongside poor mental health. Countless reports have underscored the necessity of women-only spaces and services to address these complex needs effectively.
“There is no justification in law for a women’s service to cater for men, whether they express a trans identity or not.”
Prisons
Earlier this year, a hearing took place on a judicial review brought by For Women Scotland (FWS) of the Scottish Government’s policy on housing prisoners who identify as members of the opposite sex.
Representing the gender-critical campaign group, Aidan O’Neill KC told the Court of Session that the current policy is rooted in an “ideological position”, which runs counter to the Supreme Court ruling on biological sex.
Last April, the UK’s highest court ruled in favour of FWS’s challenge to Scottish Government guidance that allowed men to take women-only positions on company boards. Justices said that the terms ‘woman’, ‘man’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex.
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