Transgender rights pioneer awarded honorary degree

Manchester Met has presented an honorary degree to Professor Emeritus Stephen T. Whittle OBE in recognition of his pioneering work on transgender rights. 

Through his research and work in equalities law, informed by his experience and that of other trans people, Professor Whittle has helped to shape professional, educational and social environments for trans people across the world. 

He was presented with the honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) from Professor Andrew Francis, Dean of the Manchester Law School, at a graduation ceremony in the Bridgewater Hall. 

On receiving the degree, he told the ceremony: “I have so much to thank Manchester Metropolitan for. Education is such a privilege that I believe it obliges us to make the very best of what we have learnt of the people we have become. 

“Without the education and inspiration I received here at Manchester Met, it would never have occurred to me as a trans man that I had a right to speak up about the injustices I and my friends experienced.”  

Professor Francis, presenting the honorary degree, said: “Through his work Stephen has made a profound difference, not only to successive cohorts of students within our Law School, but to millions of people around the world through the impact of his scholarship and activism. 

“It is with great pleasure that I present him for this award.” 

Professor Whittle transitioned from female to male in 1975, and in 1992 was a co-founder of Press for Change (PFC), the UK’s trans rights lobby group.  

PFC’s successful campaigns have resulted in several major case law successes at the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, which have led to significant legal changes since the mid-1990s, including the Gender Recognition Act 2004, and full protection under the Equality Act 2010. 

Professor Whittle started his academic career teaching Family Lives and Social Policy with the Open University. He joined Manchester Metropolitan University as a lecturer in Law in 1993.  

He has advised on transgender rights and law to the UK, Scottish, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Hong Kong, and South African governments, as well as the European Union and Commission, and the Council of Europe.  

Professor Whittle has received numerous awards for his work on transgender rights, including the Human Rights Award from Liberty, the Law Society and Justice on behalf of the UK’s Human Rights Legal Profession for his contribution to the law recognising the Human Rights of Transgender People in 2002. 

In 2014 he received the American Bar Association’s Stonewall Award for his contribution to ‘removing barriers and championing diversity for the LGBT community, both within the legal profession and impacting the greater human universe’, and in 2014 became an Elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.