Transsexual in pub ban gets £2,500
By Terence Shaw, Legal Correspondent
A MALE-to-female transsexual who alleged she was barred from a public house in Manchester because she was dressed as a woman has won £2,500 compensation.
Anne Ring, 56, of Longsight, Manchester, whose case was backed by the Equal Opportunities Commission, had claimed she had been the victim of unlawful sex discrimination. Her claim was to have been tried in the county courts when the test case issue would have been whether discrimination on grounds of “gender reassignment” is covered by the Sex Discrimination Act.
Discrimination in relation to employment on grounds of sex change has been held by the Employment Appeal Tribunal to be a breach of the Act and the European Court of Justice has ruled that discrimination on grounds of gender reassignment violates the EU Equal Treatment Directive.
However, employment regulations that came into force in May do not cover the provision of goods and services which would have been tested if Miss Ring’s case had gone to trial.
Miss Ring, who is still undergoing sex change treatment, brought her case against Keith Gardner, manager of The Kingsway in Manchester, and the brewers, Joseph Holt. She said she was pleased with the settlement but sorry the case had not gone to court to set a precedent for transsexuals. She said: “I have not gone back to the pub and don’t intend to.”
A similar claim by Miss Ring against another pub is to be settled soon.
2 August 1999: Sex-change soldiers can stay in Army
30 July 1999: Transsexuals win right to sex change on NHS
3 March 1999: Transsexual wins WPc job plea
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