In general,
the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) requires goods, facilities and services,
whether for payment or not, which are offered to the public to be provided
on the same basis for both sexes
Exceptions
in the SDA which may apply to some services:
Different skills
Services which are designed for one sex only because different skills
are required in order to provide the services to the opposite sex may
be restricted to one sex only e.g. hairdressing and tailoring.
Special care, supervision or attention. Services may be restricted to
one sex where they are provided at an establishment for persons requiring
special care, supervision or attention, for example, a hospital or resettlement
unit.
Religious
exception
Services may be restricted to one sex where they take place somewhere
that is (permanently or for the time being) occupied or used for the
purposes of an organised religion and the facilities or services are
restricted to one sex so as to comply with the doctrines of that religion
or so as to avoid offending the religious susceptibilities of a significant
number of its followers.
Serious
embarrassment and state of undress
Services may be restricted to one sex if the users are likely to suffer
'serious embarrassment' at the presence of a member of the opposite
sex or the users are likely to be in a state of undress and the users
my reasonably object to the presence of the opposite sex. This exception
may for example apply to sauna facilities. Some service providers have
identified a need to provide women-only sport sessions such as swimming
or badminton. This would be unlawful unless the provider could prove
that mixed groups would cause serious embarrassment to the user(s).
Physical
contact
It is permissible to restrict facilities to one sex if physical contact
between the user and another person is likely and the other person might
reasonably object if the user were of the opposite sex. For example,
this exception may apply to self -defence classes.
Single
Sex Voluntary Organisations
It is not unlawful for a voluntary organisation to restrict its membership
to one sex. It is also not unlawful for a voluntary body to provide
services and benefits to one sex only if this is the main object of
the body i.e. the main reason why it was set up. This exception only
applies if the organisation was not set up under an Act of Parliament,
and does not operate for a profit. For example, section 34 could apply
to a voluntary group which is set up to provide a free taxi service
for women only or a voluntary boy's group which refuses to admit girl
members. Once a body has decided to either admit both sexes or to provide
services to both sexes, it is no longer allowed to discriminate between
the sexes (disregarding any minor exceptions to membership rules or
any provision of services to the other sex which is exceptional or relatively
insignificant).
Charities
Charities can confer benefits on one sex only if it was set up specifically
for this purpose under a statutory instrument. This does not mean that
all charities are exempt from the Sex Discrimination Act.
General
exception for sport
It is not unlawful in relation to any sport, game or other activity
of a competitive nature where the physical strength, stamina or physique
of the average woman puts her at a disadvantage to the average man,
to confine competitors to one sex. For example, it would not be unlawful
for the Football Association to refuse to allow women to play in the
men's football league. Case law has held that this exception also allows
separate competitions for boys and girls. This exception would not apply
to non-competitive sporting activity.
Single
sex private members' clubs
Currently genuinely private members' clubs are not covered by the SDA.
A private members club is one that operates genuine selection of members
on personal grounds e.g. a new member is proposed, seconded and accepted
by the existing membership. Therefore they can be single sex, or if
they admit both sexes, can lawfully have rules which disadvantage one
sex.
