Law to protect against Sex Discrimination consultation

1. Law to protect against Sex Discrimination consultation Presentation by Vic Tanner Davy of Trans* Jersey to the Minister for Social Security 29 July 2014

2. Introduction • I am transgender. I was born female, but I live now as a transman. • I am an activist for equal human rights. I blog about LGBT rights and issues. • I am a writer. I have two published novels and am working on my third. All have LGBT themes. • In order to succeed at all three of the above I have had to read a great deal more than the average person on the subject of gender and sexuality.

3. “Sex” discrimination • “The Minster proposes that sex should be included as a protected characteristic under the Discrimination Law. This would make it unlawful to discriminate against either a man or a woman in relation to recruitment, promotion, treatment at work or any of the other circumstances in which discrimination is prohibited in relation to race.”

4. Sex v gender • Sex is biological (male or female) • Gender is psychological (man or woman) • Gender expression is an external presentation of sex and/or gender (masculine or feminine) • Most people will be male, man, masculine/female, woman, feminine, but not all...

5. Something to consider... • If you continue to use sex discrimination in the law, it should be reworded to male and female but... • How do you know the sex of the person standing in front of you (unless they are naked)? And what sex is a trans* individual for the purposes of discrimination? • What about individuals who are intersex/DSD (disorders of sexual development)? • There are more than two genders!

6. How do we become more inclusive? • One of the aims of trans* organisations working in the UK is to allow the “X” marker to be used on passports and birth certificates to denote a person of non-binary gender. • By including non-binary gender now in its sex discrimination legislation, Jersey will be ahead of the UK in its inclusion of all sexes/genders.

7. Defining non-binary gender • Trans* Jersey suggests that an agreed upon methodology by which gender can be assessed for legal purposes should be included as a guide to the legislation, but not enshrined in the law.

8. The Gender Grid What gender are you? Do you need to ask me? What gender am I? Do you need to ask me?

9. Gender discrimination • “The Minster proposes that gender should be included as a protected characteristic under the Discrimination Law. This would make it unlawful to discriminate against either a man or a woman or a person whose sex or gender is self-reported as non-binary in relation to recruitment, promotion, treatment at work or any of the other circumstances in which discrimination is prohibited in relation to race.”

10. Gender reassignment • “The Equality Act provides that a person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment where he or she has proposed, started or completed a process to change his or her sex...” • What’s wrong with this sentence?

11. Trans* myths busted no. 1:Surgery • “What is required is that the individual has begun or completed a process of living as a person of the acquired gender. This usually, but not always, includes surgery and other forms of medical intervention.” • To which surgery are you referring? • Surgery is elective and usually comes some time after a person has started their transition.

12. Trans* myths busted no. 1 • The obsession with surgery is a cis one and not one shared by the trans* community. • It is offensive to ask a trans* person about their surgery. Including it in the consultation suggests it is acceptable for employers to check this requirement. • “This usually, but not always, includes hormone therapy and other forms of medical intervention.”

13. Trans* myths busted no. 2:Completion • “Once a person has completed the process of gender reassignment they should, for all purposes, be accepted as being of their acquired gender.” • At what point do you think that a trans* person is complete? Is this referring to surgery again? • At what point do you think that a cis gender person is complete?

14. Trans* myths busted no. 3:Trans people are perverts • “It may be appropriate to provide for exceptions to deal with situations during the period of transition involving privacy and intimate contact, for example, the provision of communal changing facilities or shared accommodation.” • What is the period of transition? This suggests it has a start and an end. • What are you concerned about?

15. Trans* myths busted no. 3 • The trans* community give a resounding and absolute no to exceptions of this sort being enshrined in law. • It is offensive to suggest that trans* people are sexual predators. • It is impossible to guess a trans* person’s sexuality any more than you can guess a cis person’s sexuality. • Are you going to check everyone’s genitals who uses the facility? If not, this enshrines discrimination within the law.

16. Trans* myths busted no. 3 • How are you going to suggest businesses police this? • When was the last time you saw the genitals of someone performing an intimate service for you or using a public toilet? • It compromises the safety of the trans* person. Trans* people are the most vulnerable in these situations not the other users of the facility.

17. Protection from discrimination • The treatment of transgender prisoners is an area of grave concern for trans* activists at the moment. When dealing with this and similar issues Trans* Jersey advise the States of Jersey to issue guidelines to their employees that state that the transgender individual being processed should be asked which prison block, ward or dormitory they would prefer to be placed in.

18. Protection from discrimination • Any exemption that permits businesses to discriminate on the grounds of gender reassignment must be removed. There is no requirement to have any exemptions for transgender individuals, other than those provided for the characteristic of “sex”. Trans people should be subject only to the same exemptions for genuine occupational requirements as natal born men, women and those persons of a non-binary gender.

19. Protected characteristic: sex “In relation to the protected characteristic of sex— (a) a reference to a person who has a particular protected characteristic is a reference to a man or to a woman or to a person whose sex or gender is self-reported as non-binary ; (b) a reference to persons who share a protected characteristic is a reference to persons of the same sex.”

20. Protected characteristic: gender reassignment “A person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person's sex or gender by changing physiological or other attributes of sex or gender. A reference to a transgender person is a reference to a person who has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. In relation to the protected characteristic of gender reassignment— (a) a reference to a person who has a particular protected characteristic is a reference to a transgender person; (b) a reference to persons who share a protected characteristic is a reference to transgender persons.”

21. Thank you Vic Tanner Davy Tel. 07797 742025 admin@transjersey.org Follow @transjerseyon Twitter Follow the transjersey.org blog