Gender

What the law says

The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA) prohibits sex discrimination against individuals in the areas of employment, education and the provision of goods, facilities and services.

The Equality Act 2006 introduced a Gender Equality Duty which requires the public sector to have due regard to:

• the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment; and
• to promote equality of opportunity between men and women.

The Specific Duty requires us to:

• Publish a gender equality scheme which is reviewed on a three year cycle. This forms part of the Council's Equalities Scheme which includes all six equality strands
• Publish an equal pay policy.
• Conduct gender impact assessments. We conduct gender impact assessments as part of our Equality Impact Assessment process.

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Gender Identity

The Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 make it unlawful to discriminate against transsexual people on the grounds of sex in pay and treatment in employment and vocational training.

Transsexualism affects an estimated 5,000 people in the United Kingdom. Medical treatment to enable transsexual people to alter their bodies to match their gender identity is known medically as “gender reassignment”.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 provides transsexual people with legal recognition in their acquired gender. A Gender Recognition Panel will issue a gender recognition certificate when they are satisfied that the the applicant:

• has, or has had, gender dysphoria,
• has lived in the acquired gender throughout the preceding two years, and
• intends to continue to live in the acquired gender until death.

On the issue of a full gender recognition certificate, the person will be entitled to a new birth certificate reflecting the acquired gender and will be able to marry someone of the opposite gender to his or her acquired gender.

The Sex Discrimination (Amendment of Legislation) Regulations 2008 make it unlawful to directly discriminate against someone who ‘intends to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone gender reassignment’ in the provision of goods, facilities or services

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Our approach

Men and women often have different needs and it is important to take this into account when we deliver services. On occasion it will be necessary for us to provide specialist services to make sure we meet the needs of men and women appropriately. For example,schools may put on events for fathers to come and participate in school activities, and sports centres may have 'women only' pool sessions for those who do not feel comfortable swimming in a mixed pool.

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Gender Based Violence

Gender Based Violence is a cause and outcome of inequality between men and women, and this is something Haringey is committed to tackling. Visit our Domestic Violence page to find out more.

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Haringey Women's Directory

Our Women's Directory is packed full of information about services available to women in our borough. The Women's Directory is available in a number of languages and can be downloaded from the Haringey Women's Directory page.

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