Gender certificates 'still very important'

CERTIFICATES which legally recognise a person's gender are "still very important", despite the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman, the new boss of Britain's equalities watchdog has said.

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The latest official data showed applications for gender recognition certificates (GRCs) had reached a record high, with almost 2,000 in the year to September.

Eight months on from the Supreme Court's ruling in April on the definition of sex, the rights watchdog chairwoman said that such documentation still guards people's right to marry or be buried in their legally acquired sex.

The landmark court case, which was hailed a victory by women's rights campaigners, followed a dispute centred on whether someone with a GRC recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the UK 2010 Equality Act.