Who is protected under the definition of “gender reassignment” in the Equality Act 2010 (the Act)?
Under the protected characteristic of “gender reassignment”, the Act will provide protection for transsexual people from discrimination and harassment in various areas, such as work or the provision of goods and services. A transsexual person is someone who proposes to, starts or has completed a process (or part of a process) to change his or her sex. For instance, a person who was born physically male and has decided to spend the rest of his life living as a woman would have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment for the purposes of the Act. The Act does not require a person to be under medical supervision to be protected – so a woman who decides to live permanently as a man but does not consult a doctor or undergo any medical procedures would be protected.
