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Certified sex at law
The UK Supreme Court’s (UKSC) ruling in For Women Scotland laid out two concepts of sex under UK law based on their interpretation of the Equality Act 2010: Biological sex and certificated sex. Essentially the court ruled that only those who are able to enjoy protection under the Equality Act 2010’s (EA) maternity and pregnancy protected characteristic are entitled to protection as biological women under the EA’s sex protected characteristic. Certificated sex is sex which is created when a person obtains a gender recognition certificate (GRC) irrespective of if they then go on to amend their birth certificate to change their sex at law to their affirmed sex. Under s. 7 of the ruling the judges explicitly state:
“We use the expression “biological sex” which is used widely, including in the judgments of the Court of Session, to describe the sex of a person at birth, and we use the expression “certificated sex” to describe the sex attained by the acquisition of a GRC.”
This leaves several glaring issues with the ruling:
1. At no point do the judges clarify who is doing the describing, to who, using what medium, and how that information is then recorded for posterity.
2. It makes no mention of birth certificates.
3. It makes no mention of chromosomes, sex characteristics, internal organs, reproductive organs…
