ILLUSTRATION FERNANDO SAFONT
When Gayle Newland disguised her gender from her girlfriend, posing as her alter-ego “Kye Fortune”, she didn’t think it would land her with an eightyear sentence from a judge who has previously given more lenient sentences to paedophiles.
Since 2012, there have been five young LGBT people in the UK prosecuted and convicted under so-called “gender fraud” laws. In all of these cases, the female claimants have complained that they believed they were entering into sexual intimacy with men. Whilst the content of these cases has caused much sensationalism and excitement within the tabloid media, they have demonstrated much disparity in sentencing, as well as generating confusion regarding the issue of consent in sexual intimacy. They have also highlighted a number of concerns surrounding the ways in which the judiciary deals with diversity and equality issues, particularly those relating to the lesbian and trans community.