Blick_UK Politics (9780198825555)_CH10

234 Chapter 10  Identity, equality, and power

from discrimination on a basis of their characteristics. Under the 2010 Act it is illegal to discriminate against a person on the grounds that (section 7): ‘the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has under- gone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex’. There are exceptions to this rule. For instance, it is possible to prevent trans people from taking part in some sports on grounds of safety or fair competition. It is also permissible in some circum- stances to provide services for a single sex that are not available to trans people. On this basis, refuge facilities for women who are victims of domestic violence may in some circumstances exclude trans women (Minister for Women and Equalities, 2018: 76; 43–44). A number of subjects of controversy have arisen in the area of the legal framework providing for the rights of trans people. There are objections to the £140 fee charged as part of the process that the 2004 Act cre- ates for applying for recognition; and to the stipulation that, as part of their application, a person must have al- ready spent two years living in the gender identity with which they associate. Perhaps the most firmly voiced criticism is that the process provided for under the 2004 Act requires that the person seeking recognition pro- duce a personal psychiatric report diagnosing ‘gender dysphoria’, a diagnosis that describes the distress that a person may feel as a consequence of being a trans person. Arguments advanced by those who oppose this stipulation include that it is problematic because it means that someone must show distress if they are to receive legal recognition. Campaigners for trans rights have also objected to the need for trans people who are married to obtain the agreement of their spouse for 10.3.2 Socio-economic inequality The targeting of people for their personal characteristics amounts to direct discrimination. Another form of discrim- ination is indirect. You might, because of circumstances beyond your control, find yourself in a less advantageous position and with fewer life chances than others. An indica- tor of equality or otherwise in this regard is distribution of resources. One way of measuring this is in terms of dispos- able income—that is, income available for spending after the deduction of direct taxes. In 2017–18, 20 per cent of households with the largest disposable incomes account- ed for 42 per cent of all disposable household income in the UK. The bottom 20 per cent took just 7 per cent. This degree of inequality has remained broadly the same since

them to secure recognition; and have suggested that the minimum age for recognition should be lowered from eighteen, perhaps to sixteen. Campaigners hold that, while the 2004 Act was ground-breaking at the time it was introduced, it now needs updating to bring it into line with good practice elsewhere. Some have argued that, rather than needing to meet various bureaucratic requirements, trans people should be able to declare themselves (House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee, 2016: 11–19). This latter recommendation has been a particular source of controversy. Sceptics have argued that such a system would be vulnerable to abuse, for instance by people seeking access to women-only spaces for improper purposes. Others argue for sex-based defini- tions of gender, focusing on physical sexual characteris- tics, and holding that trans men (for example) cannot be men. There is not only disagreement about the substan- tive issue. An argument has developed about whether or not concerns raised about self-identification amount to transphobia; and whether the behaviour of trans rights campaigners has had the effect of inappropriately stifling discussion. One aspect of this dispute has been conflict between trans rights activists and some feminist groups (Fairbairn, 2020: 22–26), although many femi- nists and feminist organizations support trans rights. In mid-2020, a leaked government letter prompted pro- tests from trans rights campaigners. They feared it sug- gested that the government did not intend to remove bureaucratic barriers to recognition, and that they might introduce new restrictions on trans people securing ac- cess to single-sex spaces. the 1990s, following a widening of the gap in the 1980s. The UK has greater inequality than most EU member states, but less than that of the US (McGuinness and Harari, 2019: 3). This unevenness has a territorial dimension to it, with London in a particular position of advantage relative to other parts of the UK (though there is also inequality within London itself) (UK2070, 2020: 6). Whether or not you regard inequality of this kind as a problem in itself, and whether you support taking steps to correct it, is partly a matter of political disposition. For instance, a more interventionist or socialist perspective, often associated with the political left , might suggest that income should be more evenly distributed. From this view- point, society has a responsibility to ensure material eq- uity, and to do otherwise is to deny groups of people full How well protected are trans rights in the UK?

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