The UK Supreme Court ruled yesterday, Wednesday, April 16, that the definition of ‘woman’ and 'sex' under the Equality Act 2010 excludes trans women who hold Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs).
As the UK's Equality Act 2010 does not extend to Northern Ireland, the ruling does not impact Northern Ireland directly.
However, the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland says it is likely that the ruling will be "persuasive" in future industrial tribunals and courts, while Unionist politicians in support of the Supreme Court's ruling are calling for action at Stormont.
Delivering the judgment on Wednesday, UK Supreme Court judge Lord Hodge said: "The central question of this appeal is the meaning of the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010.
"Do those terms refer to biological women or biological sex?
"Or, is a woman to be interpreted as extending to a trans woman with a Gender Recognition Certificate? By that, I mean a person born male, who now possesses a Gender Recognition Certificate amending her gender to female and sex to be interpreted as including what I will refer to as certificated sex.
"The unanimous decision of this Court is that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex."
Lord Hodge added: "But we counsel against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another. It is not."
He continued: "The Equality Act 2010 gives transgender people protection not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, and harassment in substance in their acquired gender."
"Highly persuasive"
As the Equality Act 2010 does not extend to Northern Ireland, Wednesday's ruling will only directly impact England, Scotland, and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own patchwork of equality legislation.
The Equality Commission of Northern Ireland, however, said its initial view is that Wednesday's judgment "is likely to be deemed by our industrial tribunals and courts to be highly persuasive and, consequently, it is likely to be followed in cases where similar issues arise."
The Commission said it "will work at pace to review our guidance, in light of the judgment, and make any amendments where necessary.
"This will support employers, service providers, and public bodies to help them understand their duties under the Sex Discrimination Order and to put them into practice.
"We can also provide advice to individuals.
"Ultimately, it will be for our industrial tribunals and courts to determine whether unlawful discrimination has occurred in any particular case."
The Commission added: “It is important to remember that everyone has rights under equality law not to be harassed or discriminated in their employment or when they are accessing many services and to be treated with respect as they go about their lives.”
"Trans people still have legal protections in Northern Ireland"
The Belfast-based LGBTQIA+ charity Rainbow Project of Northern Ireland said on Thursday that while it is still working to understand the legal details of the new ruling, "Trans people still have legal protections in Northern Ireland."
Scott Cuthbertson, CEO of The Rainbow Project, said the UK Supreme Court's ruling has "caused a considerable amount of alarm in LGBTQIA+ communities and in particular for trans people and their families.
"Regardless of the legal implications, which we are working hard to analyse, we implore you to as a minimum to act with kindness and compassion in your words and actions going forward, even where political differences occur."
Cuthbertson continued: "Despite some sweeping statements to the contrary, yesterday's Judgement of the Supreme Court was not a ruling on the definition of a woman or of 'sex'. Indeed, paragraph 2 of the judgement states that 'It is not the role of the court to adjudicate on the arguments in the public domain on the meaning of gender or sex, nor is it to define the meaning of the word 'woman' other than when it is used in the provisions of the Equality Act 2010.'"
"Trans people, like everyone else, retain their rights under equality law in Northern Ireland to not be harassed and discriminated against in the provision of goods and services or in employment. They, like any other member of our society, have the right to go about their daily lives without fear of hatred and intolerance. This is the same today as it was yesterday."
Cuthbertson said the Rainbow Project will continue to "work for a better Northern Ireland for LGBTQIA+ and their families."
He went on to urge elected politicians to "stand up for the rights of all people in Northern Ireland, and to refrain from words and actions which create further division when what is needed is respect for all communities."
View this post on Instagram
"Major implications"
Meanwhile, Unionist politicians in Northern Ireland welcome the ruling and urged action in Stormont.
The DUP’s Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart hailed it as a "victory for commonsense and biological reality."
Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Emma Little-Pengelly, also of the DUP, shared the text of the ruling on X, adding a 'clapping' emoji, an apparent indication of her support.
Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) North Antrim MLA Timothy Gaston said he was "delighted" with Wednesday's ruling, adding: "There is an onus on the devolved administration in Stormont to take note of today’s ruling."
TUV party secretary Ann McClure added: “I very much hope that the powers that be in Stormont take this ruling seriously and revisit their policies accordingly.”
The Ulster Unionist Party's (UUP) Doug Beattie said: “This ruling has major implications for the application of the Equality legislation in Northern Ireland. It raises several questions for the Justice Minister."
He added: “It is important that the Equality Commission advise the Executive on this issue at pace and with a sense of urgency. This ruling has a direct impact on the Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976, the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulation (Northern Ireland) 2006 and the Gender Recognition Act 2004. For Northern Ireland to remain an outlier on this issue would be unthinkable.”
Meanwhile, a Sinn Féin spokesperson told the Irish News: “It is important that we have effective equality protections that work to protect everyone, and we will carefully examine the detail of this ruling in that context.”
Comments