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Trans community and supporters stage Section 35 protest
Shouts of “Section 35, eat it alive”, “we are not ammunition, protect devolution” and “all Tories are wankers” could be heard in Bristol city centre on Sunday afternoon as a trans rights demonstration took place.
The “emergency protest” was held in the wake of the UK government’s decision to block Scotland’s gender reform bill, which was passed in December by 86 votes to 39. The bill was designed to make it easier for people to update some documents to reflect their gender.
But UK ministers said the draft law would conflict with equality protections applying across Great Britain. Then, in an unprecedented move, a Section 35 order was invoked on Monday to block the bill.
is needed now More than ever
It has proved controversial, raising questions about devolution, independence and trans equality.
In Bristol, throngs of protesters gathered on College Green at 1pm to hear from speakers before marching down Park Street and through the city centre. They were armed with placards reading ‘Trans rights are human rights, ‘Stop killing trans kids’, ‘End Tory bigotry’ and ‘fuck the cis-tem’.
Speaking at the rally, activists described the decision to issue a Section 35 order of the Scotland act to stop the bill becoming law as “transphobic”.
“For the UK Government to block the bill without even consulting with British public is pretty damning,” said protester Grace Mitchell, who works in customer service.
“The gender recognition certificates aren’t going to make a huge difference, but they would create a more welcoming space for marginalised communities.”
They added: “The more numbers that are here, the more voices are going to be heard. It’s so important to show to other people in the community that there are people who care about them and their rights.”
In a speech to the crowd, a trans woman added: “It is to deny our Scottish siblings a way to make a very convoluted and insufficient system slightly easier and which gives so many so little anyway. Hateful people are willing to put their union at further risk.”
The Gender Recognition Reform Bill allows trans people to obtain a gender recognition certificate without the need for a medical diagnosis.
It also drops the minimum age for applicants to 16 and lowers the time required for an applicant to live as their gender from three years to two months. For 16 and 17-year-olds, this will be six months.
Similar events have taken place over the weekend across the country including in London, Leeds, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow
All photos: Betty Woolerton
Read next:
- An ode to the Watershed’s gender neutral toilets
- Here are the finalists in the ‘best of the best’ LGBT awards
- Bristol pledges to commitment to trans rights
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