Health Protection (Coronavirus) (International Travel) (Scotland) Regulations 2020: Equality Impact Assessment

Gender Reassignment

According to the UK Government Equalities Office LGBT Survey in 2017^[60] (a large scale UK survey of 108,000 LGBT people, though respondents were self-selected and results may not be representative of the whole population) 29% had experienced an incident in the previous 12 months involving someone they lived with because they were LGBT. The most common types were verbal harassment (14% experienced this), disclosure of their LGBT status without permission (14%) and coercive or controlling behaviour (9%). A quarter (24%) of all respondents were not open about being LGBT with any family members that they lived with (excluding partners).

There may, therefore, be potential negative impacts on some LGBT people, including transgender people, self-isolating with someone they live with. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that transgender people have a greater need of support in relation to mental health^[61].

The Scottish Government’s Covid-19 guidance on health and wellbeing, including for individuals feeling anxious or depressed, is designed to provide assistance, while Ready Scotland’s additional support page^[62] provides links to support and guidance for anyone struggling with their mental health and well-being.

In addition, provisions in the Regulations allow individuals to leave their household to seek medical assistance; to access public services (including social services or victims’ services) where access to the service is critical to the person’s well-being, and the service cannot be provided if the person remains at their accommodation, and to avoid injury, illness, or to escape the risk of harm. These provisions may help to lessen any potential negative impacts on transgender people.

Overall, there is limited evidence on the experiences of transgender people in Scotland and globally. Many surveys and data sources do not include questions on a person's trans status or provide a non-binary response to the sex/gender question.

Summary: Existing support and guidance available^[63], and provisions in the measures, such as being able to leave the house to seek medical assistance, access public services and to avoid injury, illness, or to escape the risk of harm, may help to protect transgender people from victimisation and harassment.