Win for transgender rights

AFTER a campaign by The Rock’s Equality Rights Group (ERG) and dialogue with the Gibraltar Government, legislation has been introduced to protect transgender individuals against discrimination.
The Gibraltar Government has published the Equal opportunities Act 2006 (Amendment) Regulations 2015, after the EU’s legal reinterpretation of EU Directives’ requirements. This amendment to the Equal Opportunities Act extends existing rights which prevent gender discrimination in employment to also include gender discrimination which is due to an individual’s gender reassignment.
Gender reassignment is defined as “a process for the purpose of reassigning a person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex” and the new law prohibits discrimination for work absences that are due to undergoing gender reassignment.
The law also aims to protect against general discrimination of transgender individuals, something which will be welcomed by the Equality Rights Group who have been campaigning for this issue in the Gibraltar community. On the question of the necessity of transgender rights, ERG Chairman Felix Alvarez pointed out: “It’s not just a question of numbers, but of fairness, kindness and justice.”