Campaigners have criticised Police Scotland after the force told MSPs that allowing individuals charged or convicted of rape or attempted rape to "self-declare" their sex fosters "a strong sense of belonging".

The comment in a letter to Holyrood’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee was described as “deeply offensive".

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The parliamentary probe was triggered after the policy analysis group Murray Blackburn Mackenzie submitted a petition in 2021 expressing concerns that an offender who was born male but self-identifies as female would be recorded in crime statistics as female.

Given that rape is defined in law as involving penetration by a penis without consent, they warned that allowing men to identify as women would skew those figures.

They told the committee that recording sex accurately in these cases “matters for data accuracy and trust in official statistics, public policy, media reporting, research, and for trust in public bodies".

MSPs have been discussing the petition for almost three years now, and have taken evidence from a number of groups, as well as Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service and the Lord Advocate.

In January this year, the committee wrote to the force to “seek a clear explanation of how its policy on recording the sex of perpetrators of crimes aligns to the organisation’s values".

A response — sent by the service in March, but only seen by the petitioners this week — confirmed that 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".

This, Police Scotland, added was “consistent with the values of the organisation” and adhered to “legislative compliance, operational need and the values of respect, integrity, fairness and human rights whilst promoting a strong sense of belonging".

The letter continued: “Police Scotland requires no evidence or certification as proof of biological sex or gender identity other than a person's self-declaration, unless it is pertinent to any investigation with which they are linked as a victim, witness or accused and it is evidentially critical that we legally require this proof, or there is reason for further enquiry based on risk.”

They said they would always “look for the most sensitive way to acquire this information” and that they recognised that someone “may not feel it appropriate for them to be assigned binary options".

The force said they would be guided by the Scottish Government’s currently ongoing review into the collecting data on sex and gender.

The row follows recent high-profile cases include Adam Graham who started identifying as Isla Bryson while waiting to stand trial after being charged with two rapes.

He was arrested and recorded as male but was allowed to be processed in court as a woman.

Had Bryson claimed a trans identity ahead of being charged, his offences would have been recorded as committed by a woman.

Isla Bryson (Image: PA)

Lisa McKenzie, a member of the MBM group, hit out at the response from police.

She told The Herald: “Current policy means that men accused or charged with rape or any other sexual offences can be recorded as women.

“For Police Scotland to claim that this policy fosters a ‘strong sense of belonging’ is deeply offensive.

“It suggests an organisation that does not take the interests of women seriously.

“That Police Scotland hope to record people as neither male nor female is simply inexplicable for an organisation that deals with sex-based offending and victimisation on a daily basis.

“It is surprising and disappointing that the Petitions Committee has not asked Police Scotland to provide oral evidence to explain these extraordinary assertions, not least given that the petition has been under active consideration for over three years.”

A spokeswoman for For Women Scotland said: “We thought we were beyond being shocked and dismayed by the treatment of rape victims in the Scottish judicial system, but we never expected that Police Scotland would rate a rapist's ‘strong sense of belonging’ above the law as set out in the Court of Session's ruling last year, and above the impact of such a grotesque lie on women who have already suffered so much at the hands of an abuser.

“This is a gross insult to all women who are being told, without irony, that some of the most violent men in society want to ‘belong’ to the sex class they target and that we have to accommodate them at any cost and affirm their delusions.

A Police Scotland spokesperson 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, which is consistent with the values of the organisation.

"Police Scotland requires no evidence or certification as proof of biological sex or gender identity other than a person's self-declaration, unless it is pertinent to any investigation with which they are linked as a victim, witness or accused and it is evidentially critical that we legally require this proof, or there is reason for further enquiry based on risk.

"We would look for the most sensitive way to acquire this information."

A spokesperson for Holyrood's Petition's Committee said: “The Committee last considered the petition early this year and at that meeting agreed to write to Police Scotland.

“The Committee will consider the petition again shortly and it will be for the Committee to agree what further action it next wishes to take.”