Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill: equality impact assessment
This EQIA considers how the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill will impact on people with protected characteristics.
Stage 3: Assessing the impacts and identifying opportunities to promote equality
Having considered the data and evidence you have gathered, this section requires you to consider the potential impacts – negative and positive – that your policy might have on each of the protected characteristics. It is important to remember the duty is also a positive one – that we must explore whether the policy offers the opportunity to promote equality and/or foster good relations.
Do you think that the policy impacts on people because of their age?
| Age | Positive | Negative | None | Reasons for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation | √ | No real impact on this. | ||
| Advancing equality of opportunity | √ | No real impact on this. | ||
| Promoting good relations among and between different age groups | √ | No real impact on this. |
Do you think that the policy impacts disabled people?
| Disability | Positive | Negative | None | Reasons for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation | √ | The forced civil partnership offence should help protect people who are unable to validly consent to a civil partnership due to mental incapacity. | ||
| Advancing equality of opportunity | √ | The introduction of mixed sex civil partnership may create a loophole in the law. The creation of the offence and the civil measure should close this loophole. | ||
| Promoting good relations among and between disabled and non-disabled people | √ | No real impact on this. |
Do you think that the policy impacts on men and women in different ways?
| Sex | Positive | Negative | None | Reasons for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminating unlawful discrimination | √ | No evidence of unlawful discrimination. | ||
| Advancing equality of opportunity | √ | More men than women enter into civil partnerships in Scotland. Therefore, a larger number of men than women might be affected if no new civil partnerships could be created. However, the policy will impact on men and women in the same way in terms of the legally recognised relationships that they will be able to enter into. However, extension of civil partnership to mixed sex couples may advance equality of opportunity for women who do not wish to marry and who, but for the introduction of mixed sex civil partnership, would cohabit. Cohabitation attracts fewer rights and responsibilities than civil partnership. Women may be more likely to be affected by the absence of rights than men due to economic gender inequality. The forced civil partnership offence could advance equality of opportunity for women and girls, who are more likely to be the victim of a forced marriage. The offence could act as a deterrent. The provisions on postponing a decree of dissolution of a civil partnership where there is a religious impediment to dissolution could advance equality of opportunity for women, who may be more likely to be placed at a disadvantage by through consent to a dissolution being withheld. The Scottish Government is aware of, and has reflected in the consultation, arguments that some people may wish to enter into a mixed sex civil partnership because of a perception that marriage is patriarchal, or a religious institution, or that marriage ceremonies (and the reception) give prominent roles to men rather than women. However, these arguments relate to perception rather than to the law in this area. |
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| Promoting good relations between men and women | √ | The extension of civil partnership to mixed sex couples does not seem to impact on the promotion of good relations. |
Do you think that the policy impacts on women because of pregnancy and maternity?
| Pregnancy and Maternity | Positive | Negative | None | Reasons for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminating unlawful discrimination | √ | No real impact on this Protected Characteristic. | ||
| Advancing equality of opportunity | √ | No real impact on this Protected Characteristic. | ||
| Promoting good relations | √ | No real impact on this Protected Characteristic. |
Do you think your policy impacts on transgender people?
| Gender reassignment | Positive | Negative | None | Reasons for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminating unlawful discrimination | √ | No impact on this. | ||
| Advancing equality of opportunity | √ | Mixed sex civil partnership means that a civil partnership could continue if one of the parties obtains a Gender Recognition Certificate. | ||
| Promoting good relations | √ | The extension of civil partnership to mixed sex couples could improve relations between transgender people who are married and transgender people who are in civil partnerships: they will be placed on the same footing in terms of the implications of a legal change of gender on their legally recognised relationship. It could also promote good relations between transgender people and people in civil partnerships generally: transgender people may currently see the relationship as less accessible given (i) the need to end a civil partnership should one party to it acquire a legal change of gender or (ii) the fact that the relationship is not currently open to them if they are in a same sex relationship and they do not have a gender recognition certificate. |
Do you think that the policy impacts on people because of their sexual orientation?
| Sexual orientation | Positive | Negative | None | Reasons for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminating unlawful discrimination | √ | In 2018, the UK Supreme Court found that difference in treatment in England and Wales to be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Bill will remove that difference in treatment in Scotland by giving mixed sex couples the choice to marry or enter into a civil partnership too. | ||
| Advancing equality of opportunity | √ | The extension of civil partnership to mixed sex couples will provide equality of opportunity in terms of legally recognised relationships regardless of sexual orientation. | ||
| Promoting good relations | √ | The availability of civil partnership could promote good relations between mixed sex and same sex couples generally. |
Do you think the policy impacts on people on the grounds of their race?
| Race | Positive | Negative | None | Reasons for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminating unlawful discrimination | √ | No real impact on this. | ||
| Advancing equality of opportunity | √ | No real impact on this. | ||
| Promoting good race relations | √ | No real impact on this. |
Do you think the policy impacts on people because of their religion or belief?
| Religion or belief | Positive | Negative | None | Reasons for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminating unlawful discrimination | √ | Some religious or belief bodies may not wish to register mixed sex civil partnerships. The Civil Partnership Act 2004 currently provides that a religious or belief body can only be prescribed for the purposes of registering same sex civil partnerships if the body requests them to do so. The 2004 Act also provides that there is no duty on a religious or belief body to make such a request. Similarly, there is no duty on a religious or belief body to nominate any member as empowered to register same sex civil partnerships; neither is there a duty on any person to apply for temporary authorisation to register these relationships. These provisions will be replicated for mixed sex civil partnership. |
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| Advancing equality of opportunity | √ | The ability to enter into a religious or belief mixed sex civil partnership will give people the opportunity enter into the relationship in accordance with their faith or belief, in the same way as couples who wish to marry can. | ||
| Promoting good relations | √ | No impact on this. |
Do you think the policy impacts on people because of their marriage or civil partnership?
| Marriage and Civil Partnership[7] | Positive | Negative | None | Reasons for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminating unlawful discrimination | - | - | - | (See footnote below) |
Contact
Email: sarah.meanley@gov.scot
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