The equal treatment benchbook has been updated.
Significant changes are:
The chapter called 'gender' (mainly about issues that women experience) has been renamed sex.
There appear to be re-writes to the section on Trans people. I don't have a comparison, but for example, it now says:
19 It should be possible to work on the basis of a person’s chosen gender identity and their preferred name/pronouns, “he/she or they”, for most court and tribunal purposes, regardless of whether they have obtained legal recognition of their sex/gender by way of a GRC. Whilst in many cases it should be possible to use the trans person’s preferred name/pronouns, there will be situations where it is clearly inappropriate.
For example, a victim of domestic abuse, sexual violence or assault by a trans person is likely to describe the perpetrator in accordance with the victim’s experience and perception of the events. To do otherwise would be likely to affect the quality of their evidence of traumatic events. In the end, it is for the judge to ensure that a proper balance is struck between respecting how a trans person wishes to be addressed and enabling a witness to give best evidence/recount events as accurately and truthfully as possible.
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The court should always put witnesses in the position of giving their best evidence. As in any case (eg a fraud where a defendant has used multiple identities), witnesses should give evidence referring to the defendant in the way they knew that person, including by the name, they knew them/how they perceive and understand them, as placing additional or artificial barriers on a witness is likely to detract from their ability to give best evidence. Accordingly, witnesses giving evidence in trials should not be required to call an accused “she”, particularly if they knew the accused as a male.
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There may be some situations where the judge may decide not to use the trans person’s preferred name/pronouns to ensure a witness can give best evidence, eg a female rape victim may find it incomprehensible if the judge and others in court refer to her attacker as “she”.
53.“Gender critical” is a phrase which, broadly speaking, refers to a belief that sex is fundamentally immutable and binary. People who are gender critical do not believe that a person can change their sex. Very often it is linked to concerns that allowing the definition of women to include trans women would make the concept of “women” meaningless and undermine protection for vulnerable women and girls. There is also often concern about what is seen as potential encroachment into single sex spaces and opportunities. 54. Gender critical beliefs are protected beliefs, even if they might offend or upset trans people (and others).492