Schools must use the preferred name and pronouns of transgender students, who should also be allowed to use the bathroom of their preferred gender, according to a new guide on the rights of trans people.
The guide is produced by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) with support from the State’s human rights watchdog the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
It was written by members of Teni and Shoutout, organisations which lobby for trans and LGBTQI+ people, with support from ICCL staff and legal advisers.
It sets out the legal rights of trans people in society, at work, in school, college and in sports. It says if trans rights are not upheld by schools, colleges and businesses, trans people may be able in many cases to take legal action against them.
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“Your school must make every effort to update your name and pronoun in relevant systems and documents. It must also use your correct name and pronoun in day-to-day interactions,” the guide says.
“The Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 prohibit discrimination on the ground of gender, which typically covers trans and non-binary people. If you feel that your school is discriminating against you because you are trans or non-binary, you may choose to take a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission.”
The ICCL guide also says that while there is “no specific provision in Irish law concerning the use of bathrooms and changing rooms” ... as a trans student you should be able to access toilets and changing facilities that correspond with your gender identity. If you are told you are not allowed to use a bathroom matching your gender identity, this may constitute discrimination on the basis of gender.”
When it comes to businesses, the guide says that “you should be able to use the bathroom and changing rooms that correspond with your gender identity in venues like: restaurants; gyms; and shops (including clothing shops)”.
“If you are denied access to bathrooms or changing rooms that correspond to your gender identity,” it says, “this could constitute a refusal of goods or services on the basis of your gender and may amount to discrimination under the Equal Status Acts 2000-2018.
“Some barbers may refuse service to women on the basis of staff expertise and shop policy, but they are not permitted to discriminate against trans men,” the guide says. “Likewise, a cosmetic service provider would be discriminating on the gender ground of the Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 if it denied trans women access to a service for women.”
The guide also says that “repeated and deliberate misgendering or deadnaming” – the use of a trans person’s former name – “from your boss, colleagues or service users may be harassment”.
The guide refers to a recent UK supreme court judgment which found that the term “woman” under equal status legislation did not apply to trans women but says this has no impact on Irish law.
