Gender Equality in UK Law

It is perfectly sensible for the government to wait until policy has been adequately formulated for there to be a clear basis upon which its gender equality impact can be assessed. The point at which that is reached is in my judgment very much a question of rationality not of duty. The judgment of whether it has reached that position is in my judgment clearly a matter for rationality and there is no prospect of the government's assessment that it is sensible to wait being shown to be unlawful.

This is because, as I see it, cases of direct discrimination under section 1(1)( a) can be considered by asking the simple question: would the complainant have received the same treatment from the defendant but for his or her sex?

Whilst I accept Mr Pointer's submission that the judge has a duty to assess each and every one of the section 25(2) criteria that bear on outcome and equally that judges of the Family Division have great expertise in making value judgments, I do not accept that the duty requires a detailed critical appraisal of the performance of each of the parties during the marriage.

I do accept that the father provided the mother with no financial support; that she was impoverished; and that she was unable to work and survived on charitable handouts and money sent by her family. I do accept that the mother has suffered from depression for a long time and also PTSD resulting from her experiences in Dubai. However neither of these conditions affect her capacity or absolve her from responsibility for her conduct.

FGM may ensure a young woman's acceptance in Sierra Leonean society, but she is accepted on the basis of institutionalised inferiority. As I have said, FGM is an extreme expression of the discrimination to which all women in Sierra Leone are subject, as much those who have already undergone the process as those who have not. I find no difficulty in recognising women in Sierra Leone as a particular social group for purposes of article 1A(2).

Secondly, the “due regard” duty must be fulfilled before and at the time that a particular policy that will or might affect disabled people is being considered by the public authority in question.

(c) In the absence of evidence that a trafficked victim has been trafficked by an individual, it should be borne in mind that it is likely that the trafficking will have been carried out by a collection of individuals, many of whom may not have had personal contact with the victim. One might, for example, be a photographer who takes the photograph which is used within the victim's passport, whether or not the passport is a genuine one.