defining 'woman' in law

[MsMcWoodle]

Sorry if I am being dense or if this has already been discussed - I'm fairly new to this.
Does any one know the legal definition of a woman under uk law? - I can only seem to find for USA.
Would be very interested to find out what it is and also, if they have to change it for self-id, what will they change it to?
Is there any mileage in this?

No one has actually answered tht question..

We are all eagerly awaiting

Thanks Giles - so we don't even have the current definition? There must be one?

What do they say in the USA?

I've seen dozens of people on Twitter asking.

Asking the Labour party and individual politicians and trans people and it's eityer ignored or someone daring to mention biology is called transohobic and blocked.

Not one person has actually defined what a women is.

Unless otherwise defined more specifically, the Oxford English Dictionary? I am pretty sure that most words are not defined by law.

The word isn't 🙄 but people are. Legal definition of child for example

Unless otherwise defined it would have its plain, commonsense meaning.

Well that common sense meaning gets you fired from your job and added to hit lists

'an adult human female'

Perhaps it's better to define what female means?

Someone with XY chromosomes or something?

The definition I found:
WOMEN, persons. In its most enlarged sense, this word signifies all the females of the human species; but in a more restricted sense, it means all such females who have arrived at the age of puberty. Mulieris appellatione etiam virgo viri potens continetur. Dig. 50, 16, 13.
2. Women are either single or married. 1. Single or unmarried women have all the civil rights of men; they may therefore enter into contracts or engagements; sue and be sued; be trustees or guardians, they may be witnesses, and may for that purpose attest all papers; but they are generally, not possessed of any political power; hence they cannot be elected representatives of the people, nor be appointed to the offices of judge, attorney at law, sheriff, constable, or any other office, unless expressly authorized by law; instances occur of their being appointed postmistresses nor can they vote at any election. Woodes. Lect. 31; 4 Inst. 5; but see Callis, Sew. 252; 2 Inst 34; 4 Inst. 311, marg.
3.-2. The existence of a married woman being merged, by a fiction of law, in the being of her husband, she is rendered incapable, during the coverture, of entering into any contract, or of suing or being sued, except she be joined with her husband; and she labors under all the incapacities above mentioned, to which single women are subject. Vide Abortion; Contract; Divorce; Feminine; Foetus; Gender; Incapacity; Man; Marriage; Masculine; Mother; Necessaries; Parties to Actions Parties to Contracts; Pregnancy; Wife.

this is from
legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Women

James - what would be the plain commonsense meaning?

All such female

What is the definition of female

Well the first bit of that applies to anyone. Not sure what the nonsense at the end means

The Equality Act states that sex is a protected characteristic, and I think we all made the reasonable assumption that means biological sex, defined by primary and secondary sexual characteristics. And usually, XX/XY chromosomes. Otherwise, what would 'intersex' or 'disorders of sex development' mean?

There is a definition in the Equality Act 2010 which says ‘“Woman” means a female of any age.’ But the caveat is that the definition is just for the purposes of that Act and the Gender Recognition Act provides that men with GRCs should be treated for the purposes of legislation as if they are a woman unless the context requires otherwise (so you can still have eg the exemption in Sched 3, para 28 of the Equality Act which allows for single sex services which do not include transpeople where it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim because it explicitly refers to gender reassignment, but generally transwomen with GRCs are to be treated for most legal issues as if they were women).

As far as I know, there’s nothing in eg the Interpretation Acts which provides an overarching definition of “woman” but I’m sure if this was ever relevant for a court case the judge would take the same approach - use the ordinary definition of a woman but interpret it in light of the Gendet Recognition Act to allow people with GRCs in.

In the limited amount of case law I have seen on this subject, judges have taken a sensible approach - eg if you don’t have a GRC you cannot just decide that you are a woman, and even if you have a GRC that doesn’t make you identical to people born women (eg DWP will need to maintain a record of the fact that you were born a man etc).

Hope this helps.

Very much, Speedy. Exactly what I wanted, thank.
Doesn't seem to help us though.

thanks

But the caveat is that the definition is just for the purposes of that Act and the Gender Recognition Act provides that men with GRCs should be treated for the purposes of legislation as if they are a woman unless the context requires otherwise (so you can still have eg the exemption in Sched 3, para 28 of the Equality Act which allows for single sex services which do not include transpeople where it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim because it explicitly refers to gender reassignment, but generally transwomen with GRCs are to be treated for most legal issues as if they were women).

Which is yet another reason to say a resounding no to self ID, and challenge and refute the transactivists' claim that it is "irrelevant" to the issue of women's spaces.

'treated as if they were women'
So they're not then

Are they made to take a pay cut, go part time and look after the kids, yelled at at bus stops or walking down the street or constantly asked abiut your marital status and child bearing plans?

Cos if not then how are they being treated like a woman?

'treated as if they were women'
So they're not then

Well that was my paraphrasing. The legislation actually says that their gender “becomes” that of the acquired gender.

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/7/section/9

Ok - So further confirmation that the word 'gender' is meaningless!

Yep. I’m pretty sure from having looked at a lot of legislation, that the people drafting the legislation (Office for Parliamebtay Counsel and Government Legal Service) don’t see a difference between the words ‘gender’ and ‘sex’.

*Parliamentary