About us 

Gender and transgender

Thames Valley Police is determined to address and promote workplace equality between men and women. Gender and transgender is one of our ‘six strands of diversity’.

We have a duty to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment on the grounds of gender.
• Promote equality of opportunity between men and women throughout our services, policies, and employment and recruitment practices.

What is sexual harassment?

• ‘Sex-based’ harassment is: unwanted conduct on the grounds of a person’s sex, which could include a comment of a stereotypical nature.
• ‘Sexual’ harassment is: any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct which is sexual in nature.

Both of these forms of harassment are unlawful.

What is meant by transgender/transsexualism?

Transsexual

A transsexual person is someone who lives with a conviction that their physical anatomy is incompatible with their true gender. This results in an overwhelming desire to live and function in the opposite biological sex.

Transsexualism

Transsexualism – also known as Gender Identity Disorder or Gender Dysphoria, is the medical name for the condition that a transsexual person has.

Gender reassignment

Gender reassignment – commonly termed as ‘a sex change’ – is a change in a person’s physical characteristics. This change is effected by a three-stage process of social, hormonal and surgical reassignment – this is through counselling, drugs and surgery to enable transsexual people to fully realise their gender.

Transvestism

Transvestism is where a person wears clothing of the opposite gender. Thames Valley Police has a policy of treating transsexuals and transvestites with the same respect and dignity as any other member of the public.