a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria, instead allowing Trans people to self-identify.
In a tweet shared over the weekend, Rowling said that the new laws would ‘harm the most vulnerable women in society: those seeking help after male violence/rape and incarcerated women,’ writing ‘Statistics show that imprisoned women are already far more likely to have been previously abused’.
Ms Sturgeon, who previously said that concerns regarding the reforms to the gender recognition act are ‘not valid’, said she ‘fundamentally disagreed’ with Rowling’s criticism and insisted ‘the rules haven’t yet changed’.
In a segment on The World At One on BBC Radio 4, the First Minister of Scotland went on: ‘The legislation was introduced to parliament last week and it will now go through a full legislative process with all the normal parliamentary scrutiny.’
Pressed over Rowling’s tweet, Ms Sturgeon – who noted she hadn’t seen Rowling’s tweet – said: ‘She’s clearly free to express her opinion, as am I, as is everybody. But that’s not what this debate is about…’
Under the new rules, in order to obtain a gender recognition certificate, people will need to live in their acquired gender for a minimum of three months, with a further three-month’ reflection period’ before a certificate is granted.
The age limit would also be lowered to 16 from the current 18.
The bill also requires people to make a legally binding declaration that they intend to live permanently in their acquired gender, with a false declaration punishable with up to two years’ imprisonment.
Some groups have shared their concerns that the new bill would erode women’s sex-based rights, as well as access to women-only spaces and services.
Addressing the concerns, Ms Sturgeon said: ‘This is about a process, an existing process, by which people can legally change their gender, and it’s about making that process less traumatic and inhumane for trans people, one of the most stigmatised minorities in our society. It doesn’t give Trans people any more rights, doesn’t give Trans people one single additional right that they don’t have right now. Nor does it take away from women any of the current existing rights that women have under the Equalities Act.’
However, Rowling followed up her original criticism with a further message on Twitter on Monday.
She wrote: ‘Multiple women’s groups have presented well-sourced evidence to @NicolaSturgeon’s government about the likely negative consequences of this legislation for women and girls, especially the most vulnerable. All has been ignored.
