The British Equality Act 2010 and the foundations of legal knowledge

Abstract

The Equality Act 2010, in its content and passage through Parliament, provides a rare example of an Act that engages, to some extent, with all seven foundations of legal knowledge (the English compulsory subjects upon which other legal subjects build). This article examines the Equality Act 2010 through the prism of the foundations and, in light of ongoing reform, contends that while anti-discrimination law is an important subject it should not join the list of foundations but rather that awareness and appreciation of those foundations can provide a richer understanding of such laws as the Equality Act 2010.

‘It’s Not Just About a Rainbow Lanyard’: How Structural Cisnormativity Undermines the Enactment of Anti-Discrimination Legislation in the Welsh Homelessness Service

“…Recent substantial legislative and policy attention to the rights of trans people has produced widespread anti-discrimination protection, particularly within employment and public sector service interactions (Browne et al, 2011; Hand et al, 2015; Whittle and Simkiss, 2020). However, in focusing upon deliberate or negligent harm enacted by individuals, an anti-discrimination approach risks diverting attention from the ways in which systems operate to marginalise and exclude trans people (Browne et al, 2011; Spade, 2015).…”