The Times UK 

Police have been criticised for saying they will record rapes by offenders with male genitalia as being committed by a woman if the attacker “identifies as a female”.

Police Scotland said that they would log rapes as being carried out by a woman if the accused person insists, even if they have not legally changed gender.

...Plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act were shelved by the SNP government last parliamentary term amid internal divisions and concerns about women’s rights, but the SNP and Greens’ power-sharing deal at Holyrood commits them to completing the process by the middle of next year.

The policy analysis group MurrayBlackburnMackenzie is campaigning for Police Scotland to be required to accurately record the sex of people charged with rape or attempted rape. Lisa Mackenzie, a member of the group, warned: “For such offences, it will only take a few misclassified cases to skew the statistics.”

Detective Superintendent Fil Capaldi 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.”