The European Court of Human Rights ruled that a woman who was told she would have to wait until the age of 65 to collect her state retirement pension because she used to be a man had had her human rights breached.
Source: Grant v United Kingdom, European Court of Human Rights (+33 0 3884 12018)
Links: Text of judgement | Times report
Date: 2006-May
The Court of Appeal ruled that a transsexual whose 17-year marriage was nullified when their wife discovered that her husband was a woman was not the legal parent of their daughter. The judges said the law required that when a woman conceived and gave birth through artificial insemination by donor, as had happened in the case concerned, the other party to the marriage had to be a man in order to qualify as a parent.
Source: Mr. J v Mrs. C, Court of Appeal 15 Month 2006
Links: JCO press release | Times report
Date: 2006-May
The European Court of Justice ruled that a transsexual worker had the right to collect her pension as a woman although she was born as a man. It overruled the United Kingdom law granting pension rights to transsexuals based on their original gender.
Source: Sarah Margaret Richards. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, European Court of Justice (00 352 43031)
Links: Text of judgement | Personnel Today report | Times report
Date: 2006-Apr
A report examined policy and practice relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people at local authority level in Scotland.
Source: Andrew Fyfe, Russell Fleming and Steven Reid, Sexual Orientation Research Phase 3 A Stocktake of Local Authority Policy and Practice, Scottish Executive, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Date: 2006-Feb
An article highlighted the absence of systems to evaluate initiatives by local authorities on the issue of 'sexualities equalities' (those affecting, for example, gays, lesbians and transsexuals).
Source: Surya Monro, 'Evaluating local government equalities work: The case of sexualities initiatives in the UK', Local Government Studies, Volume 32 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Feb
The new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government published a cross-government programme to tackle prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. It included: a commitment to remove historical convictions for consensual gay sex from criminal records; new work to end homophobic bullying in schools; and work to allow same-sex couples to register their relationships in a religious setting.
Source: Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality, Government Equalities Office
Links: Workplan | GEO press release | Stonewall press release | TUC press release | PinkNews report
Date: 2006-Jan
A report for the equal rights watchdog examined the experiences of transgender people, and the challenges they faced. Some transgender people experienced 'transphobia', including: bullying and discriminatory treatment in schools; harassment and physical/sexual assault; and rejection by families, work colleagues, and friends.
Source: Martin Mitchell and Charlie Howarth, Trans Research Review, Research Report 27, Equality and Human Rights Commission (web publication only)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jan
A new book examined 'non-hetero' sexualities in relation to contemporary Christianity.
Source: Stephen Hunt (ed.), Contemporary Christianity and LGBT Sexualities, Ashgate Publications (01235 827730)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Jan
The Court of Appeal ruled that a transsexual (changed from a man to a woman) had the right to have her state pension paid from the age of 60 (the age for women) rather than 65 (the age for men), despite having refused to divorce her wife. Under the Gender Recognition Act 2004, transsexual people must dissolve or annul any marriage in order to be recognized in their new gender: but the court said that there was a lack of legal framework to recognize gender change, and that barring the appellant from her pension would be discriminatory.
Source: Timbrell v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Court of Appeal 22 June 2010
Links: Text of judgement | Christian Institute press release | PinkNews report | People Management report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jan