Chamber and committees

Having listened to a lot of witnesses in the private sessions I think, if I am being honest, that they have come to a private session because they feel scared to speak up. The individual whom I mentioned said that they were aware that the person

“decided to ... shop online after experiencing a male in a shop changing room.”

Therefore, there are people with concerns, which you are recognising in your evidence today. I respect that, and I want to be clear about it because, as you said, there are polarised views. With gender recognition reform there must also be recognition that there is fear. I think that you get that.

Thanks.

Okay. Have you had a conversation with the UK Government regarding the effect of the bill on the rest of the UK?

Do you see a risk in not considering that you may need a section 104 order before the bill goes through?

Do you have another opinion on the fact that there will be different systems within that legal gender recognition?

Okay. If you do not get clarification and understanding of that before we create our stage 1 report, what will happen at that point? Is it relevant?

Okay. Convener, do you want me to ask my other questions?

I would agree with that—those were two different views on data collection.

We have heard quite a lot about data being collected for the purpose of addressing the gender pay gap. Is there a concern that, if we do not collect accurate data, women’s participation and representation in public life might be affected?

On self-exclusion by women, possibly for religious reasons, one of the witnesses from whom we took informal evidence in private—the transcript has been published, so I can share this—agreed with you that there has been a lot of polarised debate and raised the concern that there could be a postcode lottery for services. She also cited the issue of shopping centres where there are no segregated male and female changing facilities, and said that she knew of an individual who had self-excluded from shopping centres because of that. Do you think that the bill should recognise the issue of self-exclusion?