The Bill changes the process to get a gender recognition certificate (GRC). A GRC is a certificate that legally recognises that a person’s gender is not the gender that they were assigned at birth, but is their “acquired gender”.

The current process for obtaining a GRC is set out in the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This Bill amends that Act to make a new process in Scotland.

For the past 17 years, the process for changing sex on a birth certificate has been set out in the Gender Recognition Act 2004, enacted by the Westminster parliament in April 2005.

Applicants must first obtain a GRC, the criteria for which are detailed in the legislation.

The current requirements in UK law for a gender recognition certificate are:

• The applicant must be aged 18 or over
• A medical report confirming a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, which is described by the NHS as "a sense of unease that a person may have because of a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity" 
• A second medical report detailing any treatment, such as hormone therapy, and/or any surgery related to the diagnosis
• Evidence of living in acquired gender for two years
• An oath of intention to live in acquired gender until death
• Approval from a UK government-appointed panel of two members, one legal and one medical

The Scottish government wants to remove some of those hurdles, making the process quicker and easier.

If the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill becomes law, it would include these changes:

• The age limit for applications will be cut from 18 to 16
• The requirements for medical reports, including a gender dysphoria diagnosis, will be dropped
• The period applicants are required to live in their acquired gender will be reduced from two years to three months (and, after an amendment to the legislation was accepted by ministers, to six months for 16 and 17-year-olds)
• The addition of a three month "reflection period" before a gender recognition certificate is issued
• Applications will be handled by the Registrar General for Scotland instead of the UK panel

The bill will introduce a system of self-declaration for obtaining a gender recognition certificate (GRC). It will remove the need for a psychiatric diagnosis of gender dysphoria and reduce the time someone must have been permanently living in their gender before they can apply, from two years to three months – or six months for 16- and 17-year-olds. The age at which people can apply has already dropped from 18 to 16.

This short process of 'self-identification' will fundamentally alter who can access women-only services and leave them vulnerable to abuse by predatory male offenders. In other words, all a man needs to 'become a woman' is to say he's one. 

 The first minister and SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon – who describes herself as “a lifelong feminist” – has remained consistently committed to the changes, insisting that they will not affect women’s rights. 

MSPs across all parties have worked on amendments to address concerns about abusive males taking advantage of the new system. But the Scottish Tories say too little time has been allotted to discuss more than 150 proposed changes to the bill, describing it as a “travesty of democracy”. 

About 30 gender recognition certificates are granted to people born or adopted in Scotland each year, and the Scottish government estimates that if the bill passes, this could increase to 250-300 applicants a year.