Police Scotland insists 'no man charged with rape has been recorded as female'

Police Scotland insist there is no record of a man being charged with rape whose gender has been recorded as female.

It comes after the force was scrutinised during First Minister’s Questions when it was suggested a male rapist could “demand to be called a woman and further traumatise victims”.

After an investigation launched by the Holyrood’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, the force said the “sex/gender identification of individuals who come into contact with the police will be based on how they present or how they self-declare”.

In June 2021, policy analysts Murray Blackburn MacKenzie launched a petition calling on Parliament to “urge the Scottish Government to require Police Scotland, the Crown Office and the Scottish Court Service to record accurately the sex of people charged with or convicted of rape or attempted rape.”

In a letter dated Tuesday, September 24, deputy chief constable Alan Spiers wrote to the Criminal Justice Committee to respond to the issue of gender self–identification.

The letter states: “The Committee should be absolutely assured that a man who commits rape or serious sexual assaults will be recorded as a male.

“There is no instance or record on police systems of a male having been arrested and charged with rape whose gender has been recorded as female.

“This has not happened.”

The forced added that it “recognises that gender self-identification is a sensitive area of public policy”.

Police Scotland said the Scottish and UK parliaments have “not yet set out a clear position around the legal status of the concept of gender recognition” in line with the Equality Act 2010.

The letter continued: “The absence of direction has left Police Scotland and other public bodies to determine policy and practice in a way that achieves a legal and appropriate balance of rights and duties.”

The Scottish Police Authority, which holds Police Scotland to account, is expected to question chief constable Jo Farrell over the “critical issue” at its next board meeting later this week after the subject “attracted criticism” in the media.

According to the latest report from outgoing SPA chair Martyn Evans due to discussed on Thursday, the chief constable will be invited to comment directly on the controversy.

The document states: “Police recording of sex and gender for statistical and service delivery purposes is a critical issue for both safeguarding individuals and promoting the public interest.

“For the vast majority of people (99.56% according to the 2021 census), their sex and gender identity are aligned.

“However, any police recording policy or self-identification approach must address the rare situation where an individual’s sex differs from their gender identity.”

The row over self-identification followed recent high-profile cases, including that of Adam Graham, who began identifying as Isla Bryson while waiting to stand trial after being accused of two rapes.

Bryson was convicted of rape in February 2023 and jailed for eight years.