SNP leader John Swinney reaffirms support for trans women using women’s facilities

Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney has reiterated his support for trans women by advocating for their right to access women’s toilets.

According to ‘MSN’, Swinney expressed his endorsement of the Scottish government’s policy for trans employees, which affirms that they should be permitted “to use the facilities they feel most comfortable with.”

He emphasised that this right must “not come at the disadvantage of other members of staff,” while reaffirming the stance that trans women are women, as reported by The Telegraph.

His remarks coincided with an employment tribunal in Scotland that focused on trans people’s access to female-only spaces. Nurse Sandie Peggie claimed she experienced unlawful harassment by being required to share a changing room at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, with transgender doctor Beth Upton, which made her feel intimidated and embarrassed.

NHS Fife has accused Peggie of misconduct, and the tribunal judge has postponed the case until July.

According to Scottish NHS guidelines, trans men and women are permitted to use changing rooms corresponding to their gender identity.

Swinney has consistently supported trans rights. At Edinburgh Pride last June, he told PinkNews that he wanted “nothing to do” with politicians who turn “minorities into enemies.”

In May, he said on BBC Radio Scotland that trans women are women. “I believe a woman is an adult female born as a woman, and I also accept that transgender women are defined as women,” he stated.