Transsexual wins right to marry

A transsexual today won the right to be recognised as a woman and marry under British law.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg unanimously held that in failing to recognise in law the new identity of former bus driver Christine Goodwin, Britain had breached her rights to respect for private life and her right to marry under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ms Goodwin, 64, who has lived as a woman since 1984 and had sex-change surgery in 1990, was awarded £14,685 costs and expenses.

The Government had told her she was still legally a man and could not draw a state pension until the age of 65, which she reaches next month. She said the Government violated her human rights by denying her a pension at 60, when women qualify.

Her QC, Laura Cox, argued the UK failed to respect Ms Goodwin's right to a private life and discriminated against her by refusing to provide her with a new National Insurance number, by leaving her without remedy when she suffered sexual harassment at work, and by denying transsexuals the right to marry.

Without a new NI number, employers were able to discover her former identity.

Britain is one of only four countries in the Council of Europe which still does not recognise a sex change as legally valid. The others are Ireland, Albania and Andorra.

Since 1987, in a series of cases, the court has told the Government it must keep the law under review to reflect social change.