gender reassignment
The process by which a person changes his or her legal gender so that it is contrary to their biological sex as recorded at birth. A transsexual or transgender person is one who firmly believes that he or she belongs to the sex or gender opposite to their birth sex, a condition known as gender dysphoria. Under the Gender Recognition Act 2004, such a person may apply to the Gender Recognition Panel for the issue of a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). Before issuing the certificate the Panel must be satisfied that the applicant has, or has had, gender dysphoria, has lived in his or her acquired gender for the past two years, and intends to continue to live in that gender until death. There is no requirement that the applicant change their sexual characteristics through medical interventions such as surgery or hormone treatment. In 2017 the UK government announced a consultation on reforming the 2004 Act, with a view to replacing the current application process with one of simple self-declaration; this change was rejected by the government in 2020, although a similar reform is still proposed in Scotland.

Once acquired, the Gender Recognition Certificate entitles the holder to be legally recognized in his or her acquired gender, to a new birth certificate, and to marry in that gender. In England and Wales (but not in Scotland) a person who is already married requires the written consent of their spouse to change gender. However, with the introduction of same-sex marriage in 2013, it is no longer necessary for a married person who wishes to change gender to obtain a divorce or annulment before doing so.

The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination against a person who is proposing to undergo, is undergoing, or has undergone a process, or part of a process, for the purpose of reassigning their sex. In the workplace, it is discrimination against transsexual people to treat them less favourably for being absent from work because they propose to undergo, are undergoing, or have undergone gender reassignment than they would be treated if they were absent because they were ill or injured.

The circumstances in which providers of sex-specific (or sex-separated) services may reasonably and therefore legally discriminate against trans people remains a contested area. Despite some claims to the contrary, it is clear that the Equality Act does not create an automatic right for, for example, male-to-female transsexuals to take part in competitive women’s sports or to use spaces (such as changing rooms) that are normally reserved for biological women. With regard to prisons, the current policy of the UK government is to place offenders who identify as women (with or without a GRC) in women’s facilities, although a challenge to this policy has been brought before the High Court in Judicial Review R (FDJ) v Secretary of State for Justice [2021] EWNC 1746 (Admin). The High Court ruled that the policy was not in itself unlawful, but that individual cases might still be open to legal challenge.

Cases: Corbett v Corbett [1971] P 83 (HL); Goodwin v UK (App no 28957/95) (2002) 35 EHRR 18; KB v National Health Service Pensions Agency [2004] IRLR 240 (ECJ).

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