Seòmar agus comataidhean

I thank my colleague Siobhian Brown for bringing the debate to the chamber. Social stigma and misogyny have resulted in the menopause traditionally being underdiscussed or marginalised, despite the fact that it affects almost all women at some point in their lives and impacts on their health and on their economic and social equality. In recent years, however, there has been greater focus on the issue—led by women, of course, who have been talking about their experiences—which has led to changes in policy, understanding and practice. However, we must go much further.

In the workplace and outside it, there should be a legal, moral and ethical responsibility on organisations, whatever their nature, to create a menopause-confident environment. The evidence suggests that those that do so retain their talent. That is currently extremely important, as we face a labour shortage in key sectors that usually employ a majority of female staff.

A recent survey collated more than 2,000 responses. It found that 31 per cent of respondents reported taking time off work due to menopause symptoms, including problems with memory or concentration, anxiety, depression and headaches. The survey reported that, in spite of that,

“less than a third of respondents told anyone at work”,

and

“Just under 11% ... requested adjustments”

in the workplace

“due to their symptoms.”

Those who did not request adjustments said that they were most likely not to do so as a result of stigma, with 26 per cent citing as the reason:

“I was worried about the reaction of others”.

The stigma is still very apparent.

The Scottish Government published its “Women’s Health Plan” in August 2021. The plan addresses health inequalities for women and lists menopause as a priority area, with an objective to

“ensure women who need it have access to specialist menopause services for advice and support on the diagnosis and management of menopause”.

The development of

“a menopause and menstrual health workplace policy”

is also set out as a goal.

Many of us in the chamber know only too well the limitations of our own social education at school or in the home. We were never explicitly taught about the subject in school, and many parents did not talk about it, either out of shame or simply because they did not think that it mattered.

The advantage of young people learning about the menopause is that it will, we hope, start a conversation at home and get parents thinking about what they might be about to go through themselves. It will open up conversations between mothers, daughters, grandmothers and aunts, who will begin to share their experiences openly and with confidence. Menopause is a part of many women’s lives: please teach us about it as girls.

I have met Engender, which has previously reported its findings on menopause stigma. It found that

“Just under 60% of women suggested they did not feel supported by medical professionals, which was higher than those who did not feel supported by their employers or friends and families.”

It also found that

“The most common reasons for a lack of support from friends and families included ... lack of understanding”.

In conclusion, I say that I speak to women: we have a tendency to carry on through and—as my colleague, Siobhian Brown, said—to put up and shut up. It is time that we gather together, as we are doing today in the chamber, and ensure that we talk openly about our experiences, our symptoms and the consequences, as my colleague Elena Whitham will do. We should not be red-faced about the issue—unless we are experiencing a flush, of course.

It is the responsibility of the Government to provide stability to its citizens regardless of where the instability comes from. The Scottish Government provides stability while the UK Government is unstable.

As the cash squeeze continues, poverty worsens and financial struggle deepens, those with the least money are made to pay the highest cost to live. Low-income families cannot afford to bulk buy and create long-term savings on goods and are instead having to take out high-interest loans to pay for basic food items—and that is if they can even access credit. They do not have the fall-back of savings to dip into on a rainy day, because every day is a rainy day. The lack of judgment and of basic understanding from the UK Government, which should know better, is shocking.

Supermarket chains such as Morrisons are offering free hot food, such as potatoes and beans, for those who are struggling if they use the codewords and “ask for Henry”. After 315 years of the union and 43 years of neoliberal orthodoxy, folk in Peterhead and Fraserburgh have to use codewords at a supermarket chain to get a baked tattie with beans because they cannot afford food. The charitable impulse is decent but, my goodness, the necessity for it is repugnant.

I thank the committee for its work.

There are no words that adequately convey the frustration that many of us feel at the moment. Many of us have been doing all that we can to try to mitigate the unfolding catastrophe.

The Scottish index of multiple deprivation identified that in one of the local authorities that cover my constituency, Aberdeenshire, nine data zones are among the 20 per cent most deprived in Scotland. All nine of those zones can be found in Fraserburgh and Peterhead, which are both in the Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency, which I represent.

This year, I have held cost of living events and surgeries throughout the constituency to help people manage through the crisis. I invited Social Security Scotland, local authorities, Citizens Advice Scotland and food banks to work alongside me to provide urgent support. Those people came along to help in an utter crisis that has been caused by the UK Government’s policies. Under the Tory UK Government, inflation has run out of control, mortgage rates are at their highest since the great financial crash and energy costs have doubled. That is the Tory legacy of being in government for 12 years.

Will the member take an intervention?

Will the member take an intervention?

On the point about chromosomes, intersex people exist. How does that match up with what the member is saying?

Will the member take an intervention on that point?

To my colleague Jamie Greene, I say that some of the things that he said he does not know, I do, and I am honoured to have the privilege to talk from that point of view today.

This is a wonderful day—a day when I can stand in this chamber and take part in shaping legislation that will improve the lives of citizens in Scotland who are some of the most marginalised, misunderstood and vilified people in our society. The progress that Scotland was making to become a world leader in human rights has undoubtedly been hindered by a campaign of fear and misinformation against the trans population. Trans people continue to suffer poorer outcomes relative to the wider population, and we have the opportunity to do something that takes a small step to improve those outcomes.

The Scottish Government must work, and is working, to promote the rights of everyone—disabled people, black and minority ethnic people, LGBTQ+ people and women—to protect them from discrimination. We, as lawmakers and public figures, have a duty to work to end the stigma and prejudice that is often experienced in this context, particularly by trans people, so that they feel safe, secure and accepted in our society. My goodness, they need it.

We all know our minds. Why are trans people any different? If we think that they do not, we need to reflect deeply on that internal bias and confront that discrimination. Trans people should be trusted to make decisions about their own bodies, and it should be a fundamental, given right to have bodily autonomy and the freedom to take up space in this world without being impeded by anyone else.

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill does not even introduce any new rights for trans people; what it does is to reduce the trauma that is associated with the process of obtaining a gender recognition certificate. It simplifies the administrative process to gain legal recognition, which has been a right for 18 years. It is such a small change, but it is a change to remove barriers, gatekeeping and that impeding that I spoke of.

The bill would demedicalise the process, which is nothing new, and move us to a system that is based on freedom, choice and respect. Personal declaration rather than medical diagnosis will bring Scotland into line with well-established systems in Norway, Denmark and Ireland, and recent reforms in Switzerland and New Zealand. In 2018, Scotland was hailed as a world leader on human rights for our inclusion for LGBTQ+ citizens and for things such as inclusive education. However, if we do not pass the bill, we will be behind the times.

It is crucial to the debate that we add the voices of trans people themselves, and I urge everyone in the chamber to reach out to the Equality Network and the Scottish Trans Alliance or, like I did when I had questions about the community, go directly to them. I asked if I could hear from those who had lived experience. I was able to connect with trans people and listen to them and their stories. Unfortunately, there were some truly harrowing accounts, which were experienced only because they were trans. I sincerely thank them for putting themselves in the position of having to relive their trauma so that they could help others.

Just before we came into the chamber, I had the opportunity to go outside and talk to some trans people. As I was leaving, I was pulled aside and thanked for listening. I was chatting to one person and, just as I was leaving, they said, “Oh, by the way, my name is Russ.” I could not believe it. I said, “My speech today has a quote from you in it.” That chance meeting really deepened my resolve to work harder for our trans siblings. I will read out the quote from Russ:

“I would feel safer with a GRC, but the current process risks re-traumatising me because of harm already inflicted by psychiatrists. When I first told a psychiatrist that I was trans as a teenager, they prescribed me electroconvulsive therapy. The harm this did meant I did not feel safe to come out again and transition until I was in my 60s. For the sake of my mental health, I can never again allow some authority figure, who doesn’t know me, to decide whether I am who I say I am.”

When we make law in this chamber, surely, the best laws are made with the lived experiences and the people that they affect at the core of the process. We know that laws that were made before women’s voices were included not only discriminated against us but were detrimental to us. We are all human and deserve rights that help us and not hinder us. Trans people are entitled to human rights. They are as valid as you and me and everyone here. They are entitled to protection, validation and support in law and to be given any opportunity to have the equal footing that we should all have without discrimination.

For foreign crew.

It is clear that we have some very strong advocates for the industry here, and I respect that. I am just trying to marry up a few things in my mind. We are talking about a climate emergency that we are in at the moment, and we are talking about two things that are very important aspects to us as human beings: energy and food. One cannot really come before the other; we have to look at them together and not in separate silos.

In the first six months of this year, Scotland generated enough renewable energy to power Scotland twice. We are doing fantastically in that area; things are great. We have got the science going, but we still have the highest energy costs. We have only to look at food processors. Fish processors are on the brink of collapse because of electricity costs. There are a lot of things going on. We need fish—it is good, healthy food and it is sustainable.

How do we ensure that there is not always a clash between those two very important aspects? I think that it comes down to the marine planning and the science. What solutions can bring it all together? In Scotland, we have the Scottish Government, but we are restricted by a lot of what is going on in the UK Government, where we now have a new minister—I think that it is Thérèse Coffey. We need to have conversations about that across Governments and across industry. I am hearing all this and just asking the question: what is the solution? How do we gather all of that together?