This Declaration has been initiated by members and supporters of the Scottish Green Party (SGP) in endorsement of the Women’s Declaration initiated by members of the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW).

We are fully committed to the Core Values of the SGP to address the climate and ecological emergencies and transform society for the benefit of all and the planet as a whole. We are all members or supporters of the SGP, or former members who have resigned in frustration or been expelled or suspended, because of our commitment to the legitimacy of advocating for women's sex-based rights.

Women’s rights, based on the reality of biological sex, have been eroded within the SGP, as elsewhere in society. We believe the consequences of this are extremely damaging for women and girls, especially lesbians, mothers and those who are disabled. There now exists a chilling atmosphere of censure and fear within the Party, which affects not only free speech but also free thought.

Scottish Green Declaration for Women’s Sex-Based Rights

We believe that democratic participation and accountability should be our organising principles and are deeply concerned that voices speaking up for women’s hard-won sex-based rights are being silenced in the Scottish Green Party.

We know that globally women, as a sex, are disproportionately affected by climate change and environmental degradation, and that their empowerment is essential to our work as environmentalists.

We believe that:

1. Women and girls are subject to discrimination and oppression on the basis of their sex, hence sex is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act (2010).
2. Sex-based language is vital in identifying and calling out this oppression, and women and girls must retain the right to the use of language specifically referring to female anatomy, for the purposes of dignity, safety and health.
3. Sex should not be confused with gender. Sex is a biological reality and is both the site of and the excuse for women’s oppression.
4. Women and girls have the right to maintain their sex-based protections as set out in the Equality Act (2010), including female only spaces such as changing rooms, hospital wards, sanitary and sleeping accommodation, refuges, hostels and prisons. Women have the right to refuse consent to males being in these female-only spaces or males delivering intimate services to females such as washing, dressing or counselling.
5. Women and girls have the right to: Protection against any discrimination; freedom of belief; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly (Articles 7, 18, 19 and 20 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights).
6. Women and girls have the right to organise themselves, as a sex, across a range of cultural, leisure, sporting, educational and political activities.
7. Lesbians are, by definition, women who are same-sex attracted and are entitled to organise and create spaces based on that definition.
8. Women and girls have the right to discuss policies which affect them, without being abused, harassed or intimidated.

We reject all attempts to undermine or limit the rights of women to self-organise and we call on, and expect, the SGP, along with the wider Green movement actively to support these essential freedoms.

Founding Signatories

The Declaration has 45 founding signatories.

More Information

See www.scottishgreenwomensdeclaration.scot

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Disclaimer: This petition is an independent initiative of members and former members or supporters of the Scottish Green Party (SGP). It is not published, promoted or endorsed by the Scottish Green Party (SGP).