Definition
Marriage and civil partnership refers to people who have entered into a marriage or a civil partnership.
Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to directly or indirectly discriminate or harass a person because they are married or in a civil partnership. Marriage and civil partnership, though, is not a protected characteristic in relation to services and public functions, premises, education and associations. This means it is only a protected characteristic in the context of work.
For now in Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, a marriage is only available to an opposite-sex couple, and a civil partnership is only available to a same-sex couple. The two institutions are legally separate, although similar in many ways. A civil partnership provides most of the rights of a marriage.
A person who is in a marriage must be treated the same as a person who is in a civil partnership. This means that anything that is available to a married couple, such as special rates, privileges or benefits, must also be available to a couple in a civil partnership. Although this is not explicitly laid out in the Equality Act 2010, if a couple in a civil partnership were to be treated less favourably than a couple in a marriage outside of work, it would be discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In situations where a person is asked to disclose their marital or civil partnership status, it is very important, and often a legal requirement, for that information to be kept private. Revealing or implying that a person is in a civil partnership may expose them to discrimination or prejudice based on sexual orientation. For this reason, it is best practice to put the options of marriage and civil partnership together in any forms.
There is no data on the participation of people who are married or in a civil partnership in sport. The data available for participation in relation to sex and sexual orientation, though, offers insight into related issues.