Speed awareness course - sex discrimination?

[MrsFionaCharming]

This is just theoretical pondering I’m not actually planning on making a complaint. Also, I know speeding is bad and I’m happy to face the consequences of my actions, this isn’t about that. Just interested to know others thoughts.

I’m doing a virtual speed awareness course tomorrow, lasting around 3 hours. When I signed up, it specified you must not be caring for children at the same time. I have a breastfed 6 week old. Now, my husband works flexibly and baby will happily take an expressed bottle so it’s not a problem. But what about women who don’t have a partner or with a bottle refusing baby? That woman wouldn’t be able to do the course and would be forced to accept the points and the rise in insurance etc that comes with that. Given a man wouldn’t be in that position and made to accept the points due to his biology, could this be considered sex discrimination?

They should probably slow down.

So what do you think should happen? Just let off then?

Is there an option to defer the course due to certain circumstances, eg hospitalisation? I'm sure it would fall under that.

No, it could not be considered sex discrimination. You have a choice to have a child. You have a choice not to speed.

I wouldn't say discrimination - they can chose not to speed, and if they do they could pay someone to look after their child whilst they take the course or they could take the points

No it's not remotely sex discrimination. Either make it work or take the points.

Your child will be able to cope with being looked after by someone else during the course. There will be a break in the middle during which you can feed if you need to.

That's missing the point. Given that a group of people have all committed an offence, it's not right if some of them have their subsequent choices limited due to a protected characteristic. I can't see a sensible reason a breastfeeding mother couldn't bring her infant to the course. There's a useful webpage here about which protected characteristics apply when: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/discrimination/check-what-type-of-discrimination-youve-experienced/pregnancy-and-maternity-discrimination/

And a choice of different times to do the course.

Interesting question (with the predictably predictable responses) and hopefully someone with expertise in this area will respond. Given that this course is an option (after the speeding event) that should be open to everyone irrespective of sex (a protected characteristic), age, race, religion etc then it would seem to be discriminatory as women are the only people who can breastfeed then on the face of it it seems discriminatory. Do you get the option to defer on that basis?

Apologies for the appalling grammar - listening to something and typing at the same time

It is open to everyone. There is nothing stopping a breastfeeding mother attending. It’s done over Zoom, and there are breaks during the course.

I didn’t see an option to defer but I didn’t look into it as I didn’t need to. That would be the most logical adjustment.

Actually OP, you might be right because baby is so young: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/discrimination/check-what-type-of-discrimination-youve-experienced/pregnancy-and-maternity-discrimination/

You're protected until 26 weeks post birth

This.

It quite clearly states attendees should not be caring for children during the meeting. If you’re breastfeeding then that falls under caring responsibilities - babies don’t work to Zoom schedules.

No. No one has to have a child, speed or not take the points. All are choices

Plus how will the attendee concentrate or the other attendees concentrate? When colleagues children are in hearing distance of Teams meetings then their children can be quite noisy and distracting. Theoretically people are meant to learning from the course

You’re being a bit silly now. You can do what you want during the break, which includes breastfeeding.

Get someone in to take care of the baby during the course, feed them in the break, it’s not difficult.

Ah yes, if a baby decides it’s time to eat you can just tell them to wait until the break. How did I not think of that? 😂

No need to tell them, they can just wait, it’s not going to cause them any harm. You are not the first mother to be unable to drop everything the minute your baby wants feeding.

If you honestly can’t find a way to cope then just take the points.

Would all the "it's your choice to have a child" people really want to scrap maternity discrimination and related sex discrimination laws? If not, then why should those laws apply in, say, the workplace, and not here?

It's at the very least a more complex question than "you made a choice to have a child and you made a choice to speed so suck it up".

Why not email them and find out?

I suspect that in that scenario you would be able to defer the course until such time as your baby can be cared for by someone else for a few hours.

You’re being very silly now. A 6 week old ebf baby often feeds constantly - if the woman has no-one who can look after the baby then she is not able to attend something which should be open to everyone.

OP - I’d take this up with them quoting from the link from @girlmom21

I think it's discrimination - because say a man and a woman both were caught speeding but the woman can't have the option of the course because she's feeding her breastfed baby - something only a woman can do - that's not right

This kind of nonsense does nothing but distract from the actually serious issues within this area.

Nonsense