Dr Chris Dietz gives evidence to Scottish Parliamentary Committee

The Scottish Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee focuses on, equal opportunities matters, human rights matters and civil justice matters including debt, evictions and family law.

School of Law Lecturer in Law and Social Justice Dr Chris Dietz was invited to give evidence to the Scottish Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, as part of their consultation into the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, on Tuesday 21 June 2022. 

Dr Dietz’s panel considered how gender recognition legislation has been reviewed and is operating in different jurisdictions and what challenges have arisen. Dr Dietz presented on the research which is due to be published in his forthcoming book ('Self-Declaration in the Legal Recognition of Gender') which he conducted in Denmark after it became the first European state to adopt self-declaration, allowing trans people to amend their legal gender status via statutory declaration, without further gatekeeping, in June 2014. 

Dr Dietz said "I am honoured to have been invited to the Scottish Parliament to share findings from the research I conducted into the medical and legal management of trans people in Denmark. As trans people across the UK are placed under increasingly hostile scrutiny in the media and politics, I hope to inform the Scottish Parliament's attempt to develop reforms which will improve the everyday lives of trans and gender diverse people in Scotland." 

Watch Dr Dietz give evidence (from 2:52:07)