The implications of the Supreme Court Equality Act ruling which stated that ‘sex’ means biological sex have been laid out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Last week the Supreme Court ruled that the reference to ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 meant biological sex. This means that under the act, a ‘woman’ is a biological woman who was born female, and a ‘man’ is a biological man, born male.
If someone identifies as trans, they do not change sex for the purposes of the act, even if they have a gender recognition certificate, according to the ruling.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published an interim update on the practical implications of this ruling, including what it means for services open to the public, including healthcare providers (see box).
The interim update on the practical implications
In workplaces and services that are open to the public:
- Trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men’s facilities, as this will mean that they are no longer single-sex facilities and must be open to all users of the opposite sex,
- In some circumstances the law also allows trans women (biological men) not to be permitted to use the men’s facilities, and trans men (biological woman) not to be permitted to use the women’s facilities,
- However where facilities are available to both men and women, trans people should not be put in a position where there are no facilities for them to use.
- Where possible, mixed-sex toilet, washing or changing facilities in addition to sufficient single-sex facilities should be provided.
- Where toilet, washing or changing facilities are in lockable rooms (not cubicles) which are intended for the use of one person at a time, they can be used by either women or men.
The commission added that it would publish full updated guidance ‘in due course’ and that an updated code of practice would be provided to the UK Government by the end of April for ministerial approval.
‘The Code will support service providers, public bodies and associations to understand their duties under the Equality Act and put them into practice,’ it said.
The GMC published a statement following the ruling last week, in which it said: ‘We note the ruling of the Supreme Court. We will review the judgment in full and carefully consider its relevance to our own policies and processes.’
It comes as the Government has launched a call for evidence to help to inform its men’s health strategy.
