1. LGBT people and the Law… Legislation Quiz
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

2. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
1 The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 are the result of a directive from a. The Scottish Executive b. Stonewall c. The UK Parliament or d. The EU?
The answer is
d. The EU
The Regulations were passed by Westminster as a result of an EU Employment Directive.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

3. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
2 Which of the following aspects of employment do these Regulations cover? a. The recruitment process b. In the workplace c. Upon dismissal d. Upon resignation e. Upon retirement f. All of the above or g. None of the above?
The answer is
f. All of the above
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

4. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
3 In which of the following situations do workers now have legal protection under these Regulations? a. Discrimination in vocational training b. Harassment from colleagues who think they are gay c. Homophobic comments from patients/clients or customers d. Refusing to work with a colleague who is LGB on religious grounds e. Being sacked by an employer with a religious foundation e.g. a Catholic school f. All of the above or g. None of the above?
The answer is
f. All of the above
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

5. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
4 The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 provide protection for workers who identify as transgender. True or false?
The answer is
False
The 2003 regulations apply to sexual orientation, not transgender identity. Employment protection for transgender people is covered by the Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

6. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
5 LGBT Organisations that provide specific services to LGBT people can no longer advertise for employees who are themselves lesbian, gay bisexual or transgender. True or false?
The answer is
False
However, an organisation would need to be able to demonstrate that being LGBT was a genuine occupational requirement and it would be very difficult to think of a reason why being LGBT would be an occupational requirement. The LGBT sector currently employs people who are suitable for the job regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

7. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
6 Employers now have to provide separate toilets, changing rooms and shower facilities for LGBT employees. True or false?
The answer is
False!
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

8. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
7 A person would have to reveal their sexual orientation to their employer if they were to report harassment or discrimination related to sexual orientation at work. True or false?
The answer is
False
Any form of discrimination relating to sexual orientation, regardless of the sexual orientation of the individual, is unlawful. In one case, a man who had been harassed at work because colleagues thought he was gay won his case in an industrial tribunal – although he was in fact heterosexual.
Question – why do you think his colleagues had assumed he was gay?
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

9. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
8 Which of the following applies to the Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999: a. They are an insert into the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act to include discrimination on gender reassignment grounds. b. They cover employment and vocational training c. They cover goods services and facilities d. They apply to employment as a Minister of Religion e. All of the above or f. None of the above?
The answer is
a. They are an insert into the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act to include discrimination on gender reassignment grounds.
b. They cover employment and vocational training
They do not cover goods and services as they were introduced within the context of an Equal Treatment Directive which only applies to employment and vocational training.
The regulations do not apply to employment for the purposes of an organised religion whose doctrine restricts employment to people who have neither undergone, or are undergoing, gender reassignment.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

10. 9 It is legal for a man to wear a dress in public True or false?
The answer is
True
A slightly ‘tricky’ question only in the sense that it is not illegal for a man to wear a dress, although there have been reports of trans people being arrested for breach of the peace in the past because of their dress.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

11. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
10 It is legal for a shop to refuse to serve a transgender person True or false?
The answer is
True
However, a transsexual worker could not be sacked from the same shop because of their transsexual status (protection in employment under the SDA 1999).
At present (June 2007) it is legal for a shop, or any other service, to refuse to provide an equable service to transgender people. By the end of 2007, under a European Union Directive, transsexual people will be protected in the provision of goods and services.
Note that while the directive technically applies only to transsexual people, that good practice would suggest that transgender people, however they identify, should enjoy protection in the provision of goods and services too. Also, services would be unable to tell who is a non-transsexual trans person and would therefore be on very dangerous ground if they tried to assume someone wasn’t transsexual and not entitled to protection.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

12. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
11 Transsexual people can apply to have the sex on their birth certificate changed. True or false?
The answer is
True
For a transsexual man or woman who has successfully applied for Gender Recognition Certificate they can send away for a new birth certificate with the sex changed on it.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

13. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
12 Transsexual people who were married before transitioning can obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate and stay legally married to their partner. True or false?
The answer is
False
A transsexual person cannot register their gender and stay married. They would be required to divorce before the transsexual person could register their gender.
Arrangements have been put in place to allow marriages to be annulled and immediately followed by a Civil Partnership. However, this is an issue for people whose marriage vows were very important to them and who do not wish to annul them, perhaps due to their religious beliefs for instance.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

14. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
13 How long does a transsexual person have to live in the role of their gender before they would be considered for surgical intervention: a. 1 year b. 2 years or c. 3 years?
The answer is
1 year
It used to be two years, but this was seen by transsexual people (and many doctors in the field) as unnecessary. It is now a recommended minimum of one year for genital surgery and sometimes less for other surgeries. Treatment depends more on the individuals needs now, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ method.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

15. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
14 It is possible for transmen and transwoman to change the sex noted in their passport without having any hormone treatment or surgery. True or false?
The answer is
True
A letter from a GP stating the person is transsexual and a statutory declaration of name change is all that is needed to change the sex on the passport.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

16. 15 It is legally possible for a transwoman to be raped. True or false?
The answer is
False
In Scots law rape is defined by penetration of a vagina with a penis. A post-surgical transwoman is regarded in Law as having ‘surgically constructed genitalia’. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 in England addresses these discrepancies and rape does include anal rape, rape using objects and specifically includes surgically constructed genitals.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

17. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
16 The age of consent for sexual activity is the same for everyone, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. True or false?
The answer is
True
The age of consent is 16 for everyone although prior to the Sexual Offences Amendment Act of 2000 gay men had to be 18.
It took many years of campaigning, with several failed previous attempts, firstly to reduce the age from 21 for gay men and ultimately to achieve parity.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

18. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
17 Which of the following do the Employment Equality (SO) Regulations 2003 require employers to introduce? a. An equality policy b. Diversity training c. Positive action schemes for LGB people d. Monitoring workers’ sexual orientation e. All of the above or f. None of the above?
The answer is
f. None of the above
While some organisations have chosen to develop equality policies, provide training and monitor sexual orientation, none of these are required in Law.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

19. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
18 Which of the following legal rights do a Civil Partnership provide for a same-gender couple? a. Next of kin rights b. Same tax rights as married couples c. Responsibility for each others children d. Survivor pension rights e. Recognition for immigration purposes f. Exemption from testifying against each other in court g. All the above or h. None of the above?
The answer is
g. All the above
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

20. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
19 Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are protected from discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services. True or false?
The answer (note that this will change by the end of 2007) while a bit of a trick question, is nonetheless…
False
While it is true that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual people are now protected from discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services (and this has been in place since the end of April 2007), legal protections for transsexual people will not be in place until the end of 2007, under the terms of a European Union Directive (2004/113/EC).
There are no specific protections for other transgender people, but good practice would dictate that all transgender people should be protected in the provision of goods and services.
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities

21. Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Now the answers…
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Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities
Addressing LGBT Health Inequalities