On 21 May, Edinburgh Law School’s Dr Paul Behrens gave a presentation about the LGBT Rights: A Legal Perspective course to the Cross-Party Group on LGBTI+ of the Scottish Parliament.
The postgraduate course dealt with a wide range of topics, from human rights relating to LGBT+ issues to aspects of discrimination and the duties of states in this field.
It explored criminalisation and decriminalisation of homosexuality and of transgender people around the world, but also examined the legalisation of same-sex partnerships and same-sex marriage in various states.
Particular seminars were dedicated to transgender rights and to laws against conversion ‘therapy’.
Dr Behrens said: “It was a privilege to teach the first LGBT+ Rights course in Scotland, but it was also challenging to try to accommodate so many fascinating topics in one semester. The situation in Scotland alone – the debates on the Gender Recognition bill and the draft bill on conversion practices – provide a wealth of material and ample opportunity for academic examination.”
