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Equality, diversity and inclusion

How we promote equality through our services as a council.

Marriage and civil partnership

It is illegal to discriminate against a person on the basis of marriage or civil partnership.

Southwark's statistics

The 2021 Census was the first to collect data on same-sex marriage and mixed-sex civil partnership.

  • the largest partnership category among Southwark residents was never married nor civil partnered: 60% of adults aged over 16, this is well above London and England and had risen one fifth (19%) since 2011
  • in Southwark and London, rates of mixed-sex marriage and civil partnership were two fifths lower than in England (26%, 26% and 44%, respectively)
  • around 2,600 Southwark adults (aged over 16) were in same-sex marriages or civil partnerships, representing 1% of the population, higher than London and England levels (0.6% and 0.4%, respectively)