Exclusive:Greer warns MSPs need 'bravery' after being 'cowed by aggressive voices' opposing trans rights
The Scottish Greens co-leader has revealed abuse he has received for campaigning for trans rights.
Ross Greer has warned MSPs have been "cowed by incredibly loud voices" opposing trans rights as he revealed abuse he has received from activists.
The co-leader of the Scottish Greens has told The Scotsman that it is “heartbreaking” that some MSPs “appear to be quite happy to make it impossible for my trans friends to leave their house in the morning”.
Mr Greer said some politicians at Holyrood have “actively played a leading role in misleading the public about, for example, gender recognition reform and trans rights”.
The Greens co-leader said that some MSPs “who do not oppose trans equality” have been “pretty cowed by these incredibly aggressive voices on the other side”.
He added: “I have never experienced as much abuse on any issue as I have for standing up for trans rights.
“There has been some really, deeply threatening behaviour from some people. So I can understand why MSPs and other public figures shrink away from this.
“I have been called a paedophile more on the street since the debate on gender recognition reform than the entirety of my political career up to that point.
“This is even more unsafe for people who are visibly trans”.
Mr Greer added: “Politicians have a responsibility more than almost anybody else in society to stand up for and to defend people who do not have a voice for themselves.
“That does require a bit of bravery and that does require standing up to people who are particularly aggressive.”
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He also warned that some of the divisions in the debate have been an “import from America”.
Self-ID for trans people is legal in several European countries including Ireland and France.
Asked whether there is a Scotland-specific problem with LGBT rights, Mr Greer said: “Yes.”
He added: “Scotland and the wider UK are absolutely an outlier.”
“The use of transphobia, specifically to undermine LGBTQ+ quality more generally, is an import from America”, Mr Greer said.
“Most obviously, this has been to try and drive a wedge between LGBT equality and feminism and women’s equality. That is a strategy directly imported from the radical right in America.
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“I don’t know what exactly led them to think that Scotland was the place in Europe where they could get that in but unfortunately they have been proven correct.”
The Greens co-leader added that “many of these people are opponents of women’s rights”.
He said: “Many of these people want to row back access to abortion rights. Many of them are the same people who opposed what the Greens did creating those protest-free, harassment-free buffer zones outside hospitals that provide abortion services.
“We need to be absolutely clear about the agenda of so many of the people involved. Not everybody campaigning against the rights of trans people also oppose abortion rights. But I am yet to find someone who opposes abortion rights who does not also vociferously and viciously oppose trans rights.”
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