Police Scotland has announced that trans women held in custody by police in the country will now be strip-searched by male officers, not female. 

The decision comes over two months after the UK Supreme Court ruling. The landmark case brought by gender-critical group For Women Scotland against the Scottish government found that the legal definition of a woman excludes trans women and the protected characteristic of ‘sex’ under the 2010 Equality Act refers to biology.

The ruling has had wide-ranging implications for the trans and non-binary community, particularly in policies detailing single-sex spaces, inclusion and discrimination. Weeks after the ruling, the Football Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Scottish parliament announced bans on trans women in female spaces and women’s activities. 

In new interim guidance around searching members of the trans community, Police Scotland, which is the UK’s second-largest police force after the Met, issued a five-page document, which states that searches will be conducted “on the basis of biological sex”. 

However, if someone requests an officer of their affirmed gender to perform the search, “efforts will be made to ensure an appropriate officer conducts the search, where this is operationally viable to do so”.

In these scenarios, written consent from the authorising officer, the person being searched and the officer/s conducting the search will be required. 

The National Police Chiefs’ Council and the British Transport Police have also announced that trans women will be strip-searched by male officers, with LGBTQ+ campaigners warning that the decision “opens the door to abuse”.

Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton said via the press release: “This is a complex and important area of policing and searching members of the public is a significant intrusion of their personal liberty and privacy.

“It is critical that as an organisation, Police Scotland continues to fulfil its legal duties as well as ensuring officers and staff feel confident that they are conducting searches lawfully.

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“While the guidance will bring clarity to both our colleagues and members of the public, we are acutely aware of the impact and depth of feeling around this issue, both among the transgender community and those who hold gender critical views.

“Our priority continues to be ensuring that in all our interactions we police and make decisions in line with our service values of integrity, fairness, respect and upholding human rights.”

The interim guidance remains under review “with ongoing legal advice and engagement with key stakeholders”, amid the pending publication of revised national guidance. Police Scotland added that its wider review into sex and gender is ongoing, and further updates would “be issued in due course”. 

A spokesperson of the Scottish government told the BBC: “It is for Police Scotland to decide their operational processes, including their guidance for officers, and ensure they are in line with legal obligations.

“The Scottish government has made clear we accept the Supreme Court ruling and that public bodies have a duty to comply with the law.”