Scotland is to become only the second country in the world to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to legally change their gender without parental permission or a court order.

       Nicola Sturgeon’s government recently published legislation that would see Scotland allow teenagers formerly considered children to obtain a gender recognition certificate, with no requirement for parental consent or medical evidence.

       Documents published alongside the Bill showed that while a handful of other countries and territories allow children to formally change their gender, all but one, Norway, have more stringent safeguards than would be in place under the Scottish proposals.

       Unveiling the proposed law at Holyrood, Shona Robison, the SNP’s Social Justice Secretary, said that extra “support and guidance” would be available to those aged 16 and 17 who made applications.

       While they will be “encouraged” to take up the offer of a “conversation” with National Records of Scotland to discuss the process, there is no requirement for them to do so.

       Marion Calder, a director of the For Women Scotland campaign group, claimed that the proposed changes ignored scientific evidence around the cognitive development of children and concerns expressed by the Children’s Commissioner for Scotland.

       “The reform Bill makes no provisions for the protection of 16- and 17-year-olds, whether that is in making an application or revoking one, that takes into account the unique vulnerabilities of that age group,” she said.

       “It is only the second government in the world to do so – the handful of others who have introduced self-ID for this age group all deemed them worthy of the protection their age requires.”

       JK Rowling fears for new legislation

       As well as lowering the age at which someone born, adopted or resident in Scotland can legally change gender, the changes will remove any need for a medical diagnosis and significantly reduce the time in which someone must live in their “acquired gender”.

       Feminist critics have warned that the proposals, which would allow men to change their legally-recognised gender by affirmation, will erode women’s rights and are open to abuse by sexual predators.

       JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author who lives in Edinburgh, warned over the weekend that the changes being proposed by the First Minister would “harm the most vulnerable women in society”.

       She also described as “astounding” a claim by Ms Robison, a close ally and friend to Ms Sturgeon, that male predators “have never had to pretend to be anything else” to abuse women.

       Ms Robison said that she had reached a “finely balanced” judgment to open the system up to under-18s, arguing that they could already get a job, leave home and vote in Scottish elections.

       ‘Positive impact on children’s rights’

       The Scottish Government claimed that the changes will have a “positive impact on children’s rights” and that there is no “robust evidence” that other countries that have lowered the legal age have experienced a “negative impact”.

       However, all of the countries except Norway have more stringent safeguards than are being proposed in Scotland, where there would be no formal difference between 16- and 17-year-olds changing gender and an adult.

       In Ireland, where a self-identification system has been in place since 2015, a court order, parental consent and two medical reports are needed before a 16- or 17-year-old can legally change gender.

       In Belgium, Malta, the Australian capital Canberra and the Canadian province of British Columbia, parental consent is required. In France and Chile, a court ruling is needed. In New Zealand, a limited number of 16- and 17-year-olds can apply and applicants must have undergone medical treatment.