News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

Employment Tribunal rulings on gender-critical beliefs in the workplace – House of Commons Library

Three cases considering gender-critical beliefs have established two important points for employers.

A series of employment tribunal rulings since 2021 have considered whether and to what extent gender-critical beliefs count as “philosophical beliefs”. Philosophical beliefs are protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

Gender-critical beliefs include the belief that sex is biological and immutable, people cannot change their sex and sex is distinct from gender-identity.

The rulings also explore how protections for philosophical beliefs (under section 10 of the Act) interact in the workplace with the protections from discrimination on the basis of sex or gender reassignment under sections 7 and 11.

This Insight looks at three significant recent cases and what they mean for employment law in this area.

The Grainger criteria

The Grainger criteria are important background for all three cases. This is the test, established by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in a 2009 case Grainger plc v Nicholson, for whether something qualifies as a “philosophical belief” under the Equality Act. There are five criteria such a belief must meet:

  • The belief must be genuinely held.
  • It must be a belief and not, [simply], an opinion or viewpoint based on the present state of information available.
  • It must be a belief as to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour.
  • It must attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance.
  • It must be worthy of respect in a democratic society, be not incompatible with human dignity and not conflict with the fundamental rights of others

Implications of these cases

  • Forstater case
  • Bailey case
  • Mackereth case

The outcomes of the three cases have established two important points.

Firstly, that gender-critical beliefs can be protected from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

Secondly, however, that the ways in which such beliefs manifest themselves in behaviour might not be protected. It depends on what those behaviours are and how they impact on the legal rights of others not to be discriminated against on the basis of their sex or gender reassignment.

Employers need to both avoid discrimination against people because of gender-critical beliefs and also avoid discrimination on the basis of gender reassignment.

For full details of this briefing go to https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/employment-tribunal-rulings-on-gender-critical-beliefs-in-the-workplace/

 

December 11, 2022

Government supports a new public sexual harassment offence – Home Office

Home Secretary announces support for Private Member’s Bill to make public sexual harassment an offence. The bill will lead to harsher sentences for perpetrators.

Public sexual harassment will be made a specific offence through government-backed legislation on 9 December 2022.

A wide range of experts were consulted over the summer on introducing a specific offence. The vast majority considered public sexual harassment to be a widespread problem.

The consultation showed the need for a specific offence to make the laws surrounding public harassment clearer to both the public and the police. Despite public sexual harassment already being illegal, the introduction of a specific offence will encourage women to report to the police, as well as emphasising the severity of the crime.

After careful consideration, the government is supporting legislation brought forward by Greg Clark MP which introduces harsher sentences if someone who deliberately harasses, alarms, or distresses someone in a public place does so because of the victim’s sex, with the maximum sentence increasing from six months to two years.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:

Every woman should feel safe to walk our streets without fear of harassment or violence. And that is why we are supporting this bill to introduce a specific offence on public sexual harassment.

It’s a complex issue and we’ve carefully considered the arguments, taking into account a range of views.

We are putting the needs of victims at the heart of our decision, which will mean the criminals who commit these acts face the consequences they deserve.

British Transport Police Assistant Chief Constable Charlie Doyle, said:

No woman should be subjected to harassment or intimidation as they travel and we will always welcome any extra help in bringing more offenders to justice.

We have always taken reports of sexual harassment extremely seriously, however I hope the proposed legislation will reinforce our clear message to perpetrators that it simply won’t be tolerated.

We know that all forms of sexual harassment are under-reported to police and I hope this increased awareness will encourage more victims to come forward and tell us about what’s happened to them.

The government response to the consultation has been published here, which confirms the commitment to pursuing new legislation which builds on the intentional ‘harass, alarm, distress’ definition of harassment first established in law in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

The new legislation supports the government’s commitment to tackling violence against women and girls, and follows earlier action to help tackle these crimes in public spaces, including public sexual harassment.

Government action also includes new guidance for the police and prosecutors on sexual harassment; investing £125 million through the Safer Streets and Safety of Women at Night Funds; the StreetSafe tool which allows women to report directly to the police on areas where they have felt unsafe; and the ground-breaking ‘Enough’ communications campaign, which helps the public to safely play their part in stopping abuse.

Notes

  1. The change will provide that if an offence is committed under existing section 4A Public Order Act 1986 (intentionally causing someone harassment, alarm or distress), and is done because of the victim’s sex, then they can get the higher maximum sentence of two years, when previously the maximum was six months.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-supports-a-new-public-sexual-harassment-offence

 

December 11, 2022

Thousands of survivors to be protected from prison abusers – Ministry of Justice

Survivors will be better protected from domestic abusers who attempt to continue their campaign of terror from behind bars.

  • new scheme to thwart domestic abuse campaigns from behind bars by blocking unwanted calls and letters from prisoners
  • delivers on the government’s Domestic Abuse Plan

Under the scheme, police forces, prison governors and victims’ services will work hand-in-glove to automatically block offenders from calling or sending threatening letters to their victims.

The new Unwanted Prisoner Contact Service – trialled at Kent and Thames Valley earlier this year – will act immediately on any intelligence to contact jails and block offenders from sending further communications.

In practice, this will mean offenders will be physically unable to dial their victim’s number from the prison landings or send out letters to the victim’s address as these contact detail will automatically be barred.

Crucially, the new scheme means survivors will not have to ask for help themselves, with other agencies and support services able to contact the service on their behalf – protecting them from further trauma.

By creating a single hub for police victims and support agencies, the new service will ensure a speedier response with dedicated case handlers quickly locating offenders and blocking contact. It will also prevent abusers from using other offenders to torment their victims by barring victims’ contact details from all prison phones.

Minister for Prisons and Probation, Damian Hinds, said:

We will never tolerate domestic abusers who seek to continue their campaign of abuse from behind bars and will always take tough action against the prisoners responsible.

This new service delivers on our commitments in the national Domestic Abuse Plan and will better protect victims once their cowardly abusers are jailed.

During successful pilots, hundreds of victims came forward to request contact was blocked – showing the new model is more accessible and effective in identifying and protecting victims.

Diana Fawcett, Chief Executive of Victim Support, said:

Unwanted contact from offenders is frightening and stressful. It can stop victims from moving on with their lives and, particularly in cases of domestic abuse, is often used to intimidate victims and continue campaigns of abuse.

We welcome steps to make it easier and quicker to take action and hope that this will make a real difference for victims.

The move delivers on the cross-government Domestic Abuse Plan which sets out investment of £140 million to support victims and £81 million to tackle perpetrators.

The government also continues to implement the Domestic Abuse Act which recognises all forms of abuse beyond physical violence, introduces new offences for non-fatal strangulation and so-called revenge porn, as well as preventing abusers from being able to directly cross-examine their victims in family and civil courts. The vast majority of measures are now in force.

Notes

  • Requests to block contact can be made by the victim, on behalf of the victim with their consent, or by police, probation, victim services, friends, or family members of the victim without their consent. Each case will be assessed individually.
  • Last year we passed our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021, alongside a comprehensive action plan of other non-legislative measures.
  • For the first time in history, we now have a general purpose legal definition of domestic abuse which emphasises that domestic abuse goes beyond physical violence, and includes emotional, coercive or controlling, as well as economic abuse.
  • This is in recognition of the devastating impact different forms of abuse can have on victims’ lives.
  • On 30 March 2022, we published the cross-government Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thousands-of-survivors-to-be-protected-from-prison-abusers

December 11, 2022

Government backtracks to support global abortion rights – Humanists UK

In a new multinational statement, the UK Government has thrown its weight behind ‘promoting and defending comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights for all’, after having removed such commitments from another statement over the summer.

Humanists UK has welcomed the renewed support for women’s rights to abortion and other services.

July rollback on abortion rights

In July, the UK hosted the International Ministerial on Freedom of Religion or Belief. As part of that, it published the ‘Statement on freedom of religion or belief and gender equality’, which had been drafted alongside other countries. 22 different countries signed the statement, which committed them to abolish discriminatory laws that ‘restrict women’s and girls’ full and equal enjoyment of all human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, bodily autonomy’.

But later that month, the UK unilaterally removed those words from the statement. Humanists UK first spotted the change. Several countries, including Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark, protested the decision. So did over 20 human rights, pro-choice, and international aid groups, in a letter coordinated by Humanists UK. The revised statement was only signed by 8 countries.

A reversal: new commitments to abortion rights

The UK refused to reinstate the original statement. But it has now made similar commitments elsewhere. This week the UK hosted another conference – the International Ministerial Conference on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. As part of that, the UK published a new multilateral ‘political declaration on conflict-related sexual violence’. That declaration has been signed by 53 countries. It includes:

‘Conflict-related sexual violence must be tackled as part of wider global efforts to… promote and defend comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights for all. We remain firm in our ambition to deliver our commitments in these areas, including: …ensuring access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health at the outset and throughout crises.’

The UK also made a national commitment to ‘continue investing in gender-based violence response services, including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services.’

The UK also published a new ‘Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict strategy’. This includes ‘The UK will continue to invest in life-saving comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services to support survivors of gender-based violence… The UK has committed to considering SRHR in all our humanitarian funding. We will support the provision of SRHR supplies and services through our partnerships and our global advocacy on SRHR preparedness and response.’

Another policy paper published elaborates that ‘Comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare includes obstetric and antenatal care for pregnant women, access to contraceptive information and services, including emergency contraception, clinical management of rape and post-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of HIV transmission, treatment of sexual transmitted infections, and access to safe abortion and post-abortion care.’

Notes:

Part of a longer press release at https://humanists.uk/2022/12/02/government-backtracks-to-support-global-abortion-rights/

December 7, 2022

Soaring costs of infant formula will “force families to resort to unsafe feeding practices” – BPAS

  • Data shows that the cost of infant formula has soared over the last year – with the price of the cheapest brand increasing by 22%
  • The current cash value of Healthy Start vouchers, £8.50 per week, is no longer enough to pay for the amount of infant formula needed to safely feed a baby in the first six months of their life.
  • One Baby Bank has reported “an enormous increase in referrals for parents struggling to feed their little ones” due to formula price rises and warns that “without access to this basic essential, we will see babies in hospital, malnourished.”
  • Research has found that parents experiencing poverty are also resorting to unsafe feeding practices, including skipping feeds, watering down formula or adding cereal.
  • Unless there is action by the government, retailers, and formula companies, it is likely that there will be a significant rise in the number of families unable to feed their babies.
  • Charities including BPAS, Feed, and Mumsnet are calling on the government to increase the Healthy Start allowance from £8.50 to £10 a week for infants to more realistically support families with formula-dependent infants.

Charities are warning that increasing numbers of vulnerable families will be forced to resort to unsafe feeding practices due to the soaring cost of infant formula. The value of Healthy Start Vouchers, which are provided to women in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland who are pregnant or have young children and can be used to buy nutritious foods, is now no longer enough to pay for the amount of infant formula needed to safely feed a baby in the first six months of their life.

NHS guidance recommends that babies are exclusively breastfed for the first year of their lives. However, data shows that the majority of babies will be partially or fully formula fed by the time they are 6-8 weeks old.

Analysis by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, has that the cost of infant formula rose rapidly over the last year. Between August 2021 and November 2022, the costs of major brands increased as follows:

  • Mamia First Infant Milk (900g, Aldi) – the cheapest infant formula on the market – increased by 22% from £6.99 to £8.49.
  • Aptamil 1 First Milk (800g) increased by 17% from £11.50 to £13.50
  • Cow & Gate First Infant Milk (800g, Boots) increased by 14% from £8.75 to £10
  • SMA Little Steps First Infant Milk (800g, Tesco) increased by 9% from £8.25 to £9

An independent inquiry conducted by the charity Feed has found that families unable to afford to purchase infant formula, or who have been unable to access formula due to food bank policies which restrict the redistribution of formula, resort to practices including  watering down formula or feeding their babies with food that is not suitable, such as porridge. As a result, babies are at risk of being underfed.

Baby Banks have reported an increase in demand as more parents struggle to afford the basic essentials for their infants. While some Baby and Food Banks will provide families in need with infant formula, the largest networks – including the Trussell Trust and Fareshare – currently have policies in place which prevent their food banks from redistributing formula donations.

Research by Mumsnet has found that among their users:

  • 87% have been worried about their finances in the last month, with 32% extremely or very worried
  • 15% have accrued debt to pay for essentials in the last month
  • 15% have skipped a meal to save money in the last month

The charities believe that improving access to breastfeeding support and challenging the exploitative practices within the infant formula industry are vital in the long term, but that action is needed now as families face an incredibly difficult winter. Charities are therefore calling on the government to protect the health and wellbeing of families and babies living in food poverty by increasing the value of Healthy Start allowance from £8.50 to £10 a week for infants to more realistically support families with formula-dependent infants.

Part of a longer press release at https://www.bpas.org/about-our-charity/press-office/press-releases/soaring-costs-of-infant-formula-will-force-families-to-resort-to-unsafe-feeding-practices/

December 7, 2022