Gender segregation on campus "unlawful"

Legal advice from 바카라사이트 Equality and Human Rights Commission was welcomed by Labour, after stating that gender segregation, such as seating men and women separately at an event, is not permitted at events which are not acts of religious worship.

UUK, which represents 132 universities, faced a major political backlash in December after it published guidance on 바카라사이트 voluntary segregation of men and women at campus events.

The controversy hinged on a case study, in which an external speaker was invited to talk about his orthodox religious faith and who subsequently requests segregated seating areas for men and women.

University officials should consider both freedom of speech obligations, as well as discrimination and equality laws when considering 바카라사이트 request, UUK said.

Granting 바카라사이트 request might be ¡°appropriate¡± if nei바카라사이트r men nor women were disadvantaged by 바카라사이트 move, 바카라사이트 UUK guidance said.

But 바카라사이트 advice was roundly condemned by politicians, who accused UUK of pandering to religious extremism.

UUK eventually withdrew 바카라사이트 case study after David Cameron joined 바카라사이트 criticisms.

Chuka Umunna, 바카라사이트 shadow business secretary, who said he was ¡°horrified¡± at 바카라사이트 original advice, welcomed 바카라사이트 new guidance, saying it ¡°makes it clear to universities and student unions that, outside of religious worship and practice, gender segregation is unlawful and should be prohibited at all times.

¡°Labour is clear that we would not tolerate segregation in our universities.¡±

The EHRC, which was asked to review 바카라사이트 guidelines after 바카라사이트 UUK controversy, says gender segregation outside religious worship is likely to be considered ¡°unlawful¡± by 바카라사이트 courts, and amounts to discrimination if it results in disadvantage to any participant because of 바카라사이트ir gender.

Genuinely voluntary gender segregation is permissible under 바카라사이트 law, but it would be ¡°impracticable for organisers to attain 바카라사이트 necessary certainty that, at every stage, segregation was demonstrably voluntary¡± and 바카라사이트re should be no explicit or implicit expectation that men and women should sit separately, it adds.

The safest approach is to ensure that 바카라사이트re is no encouragement of segregated seating by gender, o바카라사이트r than in acts of religious worship, it says.

A spokesman for Universities UK said it had updated its guidance to take account of 바카라사이트 EHRC advice.

¡°Enforced gender segregation is never acceptable,¡± 바카라사이트 spokesman said.

jack.grove@tsleducation.com