An immutable characteristic is any sort of physical attribute which is perceived as being unchangeable, entrenched and innate. The term is often used to describe segments of the population which share such attributes and are contrasted from others by those attributes, and is used in
human rights law
International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law are primarily made up of treaties, ag ...
to classify
protected groups of people who should be protected from civil or criminal actions which are directed against those immutable characteristics.
For example, a legal debate about
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
concerns whether it is a mutable or immutable characteristic.
If it is immutable, then homosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality, heterosexuality, etc., are all immutable characteristics that naturally occur and cannot be changed. If it is mutable, then those characteristics ''can'' be changed.
See also
*
Suspect classification
In United States constitutional law, a suspect classification is a class or group of persons meeting a series of criteria suggesting they are likely the subject of discrimination. These classes receive closer scrutiny by courts when an Equal Protec ...
References
See also
*
Immutability (theology)
{{law-stub
Collective rights
Human rights