Chamber and committees

Martin A. Neill submission of 25 July 2021

PE1876/B - Accurately record the sex of people charged or convicted of rape or attempted rape

My views, in support of this petition, relate only to a male (i.e. born male) perpetrator accused of rape or attempted rape, and not a female (i.e. born female) perpetrator. The victim may be female or male.

1. The victim should be allowed to refer to the perpetrator as a man (including male pronouns) throughout the process: from reporting the complaint, physical examination, investigation by the police, court proceedings and speaking to or being interviewed by the media.

2. This will apply irrespective of whether the perpetrator has a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), because this is a physical act by a biological male, with the physical strength of a male. This will be especially the case where the victim is a woman, and the disparity in physical strength much greater.

3. There shall be no requirement imposed on the victim at any stage of the process to refer to the perpetrator by a self-identified gender other than male or to use his preferred pronouns. There shall be no admonition of the victim against mis-gendering the perpetrator or refusing to accept the sex as self-identified by the perpetrator, other than male.

4. In all the above proceedings the perpetrator’s sex will be stated (and recorded) as male and qualified by a self-identified gender where it is other than male e.g. a male who self-identifies as a woman.

5. Where the perpetrator is found guilty of the offence the crime will be recorded as a crime by a man, regardless of whether the perpetrator possesses a GRC. This is because if the sex of the perpetrator is recorded as other than male then it will distort the crime statistics adversely against women.

6. Should the perpetrator be served a custodial sentence then it should be served in the male prison estate, regardless of the possession of a GRC. This is a crime usually associated with a male perpetrator with genitalia, and the sentence should be served in the prison estate for men with genitalia. In any justice or prison statistics regarding the sex of the prison population the sex of the offender must be recorded as male, regardless of the possession of a GRC.