The Department of Gerontology is organising a public lecture on Thursday 21 February from 17:30 to 20:00. The venue is Lecture Theatre 2 – Francis Ebejer Hall (LT2) L-Università ta’ Malta.
Part 1:
Older People’s Attitudes to Legal Gender
Speaker: Prof. Elizabeth Peel
In 2015 Malta introduced the Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics Act, an accessible gender recognition procedure, based on self-determination. By contrast, in the UK, a person who wants to change their legal gender must provide evidence to a quasi-judicial panel that they have lived in their 'acquired gender' for at least two years, and that they have been medically diagnosed with gender dysphoria. But what do people think about whether or how legal gender should be regulated, and how does legal gender relate to wider social attitudes/experiences? The ‘Attitudes to Gender’ online survey was conducted during and after the UK Government’s consultation on the Gender Recognition Act (Autumn 2018). There were 3101 respondents, mostly (75%) from England/Wales, and legally female (73%), with 15% not identifying with the sex/gender given at birth. In terms of age, the respondents ranged from 18-82 years old (median age 40). It is commonly assumed that ‘new’ forms of gender expression, such as non-binary, are the preserve of younger people but is this actually the case? This talk focuses on the perspectives of 299 (9.6%) over 60s in the sample, exploring their views on gender in everyday life and attitudes towards how the law assigns gender, and draws comparison with younger people’s views.
Part 2:
Supported Decision-Making and the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Speaker: Prof. Rosie Harding
Implementing Article 12 of the CRPD, which the Committee on the CRPD have said requires the abolition of all forms of substituted decision-making, poses significant challenges in law and society. In this talk, Prof. Harding reflects on empirical research with disabled people and health and social care professionals, alongside socio-legal analysis and comparative legal research. She argues that implementing the right to enjoy legal capacity in the CRPD requires a fundamental shift in understandings of the legal concept of capacity.
The general public is cordially invited to attend this public lecture. For further details contact +356 2340 2237 or send an email.
Prof. Elizabeth Peel is Professor of Communication and Social Interaction and Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor (. She is responsible for delivering the ‘educating for success’ component of the University’s research strategy through the Doctoral College, which spans both Loughborough and London campuses and all 10 Schools. Prof Peel gained her B.A. in Psychology and Sociology and a Diploma in Applied Psychology from University of Nottingham (1997) and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Loughborough University (2002) before undertaking research and teaching at the Universities of Edinburgh, Aston and Worcester. She has been awarded 21 research grants worth £2M from funders including the ESRC and British Academy, and has produced over 200 scholarly outputs and conferences presentations. Her research areas are within critical health and social psychology and focus on LGBTIQ psychology (especially heterosexism and relationships/families) and chronic illness (particularly dementia and diabetes). Her books have won awards from the American Psychological Association (2007) and the British Psychological Society (BPS, 2013). She is on the Editorial Board of five journals, and is Book Series Editor (with Elizabeth Stokoe) of Gender and Sexualities in Psychology (Routledge). She is an International Society of Critical Health Psychology Committee Member and Fellow of the BPS. Her latest book is Psychologies of Ageing: Theory, Research and Practice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018) and she is a CI on the .
Prof. Rosie Harding is Chair in Law and Society, Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, UK and Chair of the UK Socio-Legal Studies Association. She won a Philip Leverhulme Prize for Law in 2017, and was a 2016/17 British Academy Mid-Career Fellow. Her research focuses on the place of law in everyday life, with a particular focus on human rights, equality, and the regulation and recognition of intimate and caring relationships. She is author of Duties to Care: Dementia, Relationality and Law (2017, Cambridge University Press) and Regulating Sexuality (2011, Routledge Social Justice, winner of the 2011 SLSA-Hart Book Prize and the 2011 SLSA-Hart Early Career Prize), and editor of Revaluing Care in Theory, Law and Politics: Cycles and Connections (2017, Routledge Social Justice), Ageing and Sexualities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2016, Ashgate), and Law and Sexuality (2016, Routledge Critical Concepts).
