Nicola Sturgeon says abuse from trans debate pushed her to resign as First Minister

Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon claimed that abuse she received over plans to reform gender laws in Scotland contributed to her decision to step down.

While speaking at the Charleston Literary Festival in Sussex on Sunday, Sturgeon said she received more abuse for her plans to make it easier for people to legally change their gender than on any other issue during her time in office.

“I’ve had more abuse hurled at me over the issue of trans rights than probably any other issue I’ve discussed, including Scottish independence probably, so it has been really, really difficult,” she said, according to a report from The Telegraph.

She warned that “it seems like everyone in society is raining down on trans people” and despite forming 0.5% of the population, they were used as “a battering ram”, adding that gay people and other marginalised groups were becoming “collateral damage” in political debate.

The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which aimed to make it easier for individuals to legally change their gender, was mired with controversy.

Key changes included lowering the age requirement from 18 to 16, removing the need for a gender dysphoria diagnosis, and reducing the time someone must live in their acquired gender.

However, the UK government ultimately blocked the Bill, arguing it infringed upon reserved powers.

Reflecting on the backlash she faced amid the transgender rights row, Sturgeon said “I got to the point where I thought I was part of that problem” because there is no one in Scotland who “doesn’t have an opinion about me whether good or bad – and I’m not sure many people are indifferent”.

She added that “people were coming at that issue in terms of how they thought about me – that felt true on the trans issue, it felt true on a number of issues – so I thought, well, if I take myself out of that maybe the politics, the discourse and the debate in Scotland will be a bit more healthy.

“It hasn’t quite worked out that way, but yes that is why I decided to stand down.”