If an example was needed about how much sex and gender have been conflated in law and public policy it’s the debate around @JohannLamont’s amendment to the Forensic Services Medical Bill. /1 thread

The shift to gender (gender pay gap/gender based violence etc) seems to have occurred because we as a society have felt more comfortable with the g word because sex is about sexual intercourse rather than a biological class of people. /2

However gender is not specified in law, unlike sex, and depending on who you talk to, there are umpteen genders as it’s about a performative identity rather than a biological certainty. How then if you are a rape victim can you ask for a medical examiner of a specific gender? /3

You can’t. You can, however, ask for a medical examiner of the same sex as you. Putting this clarity in the Bill for traumatised people seems a no brainer. And has the added advantage of shining a light on the lack of female examiners and thereby forcing a response to that. /4

Without that NHS trusts don’t have to address the issue. If gender is used and as self ID has become accepted - ahead of law - esp in the NHS, then hypothetically a woman who has been raped could be examined by a person who says their gender is “woman” but their sex is not. /5