In a devastating move for transgender people in the UK, the UK Supreme Court has ruled that the legal definition of “woman” refers to someone who is born biologically female. It also defined “sex” as referring to biological sex.
The historic decision saw five judges unanimously agree that any mention of a woman in The Equality Act 2010 — a bill which prohibits people from direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation — did not include transgender women, even if they held gender recognition certificates.
However, Justice Patrick Hodge did claim that the ruling “does not remove protection from trans people”, who will still be protected from discrimination under UK law.
“The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms ‘women’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex,” Deputy President of the Supreme Court Patrick Hodge said.
“But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph for one or more groups in our society at the expense of another — it is not.”
In a statement, a UK Government spokesperson claimed that the ruling brought “clarity and confidence” to women and those working in single-sex spaces such as sports clubs and women’s refuges.
“We have always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex. Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government,” the spokesperson said.
The case was initially brought to the Supreme Court by a far-right group called For Women Scotland. The group, which is financially backed by self-proclaimed trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) J.K. Rowling, originally started its legal battle in 2018 when it challenged legislation in the Scottish Parliament, which allowed trans women with gender recognition certificates to sit on public boards which had quotas to feature 50 per cent women.
As these groups do not seem to recognise the legitimacy of trans women’s gender identity, they took to the courts to actively argue against trans people’s rights.
According to the chief executive of Amnesty International UK, Sacha Deshmukh, the ruling is “clearly disappointing”.
“There are potentially concerning consequences for trans people, but it is important to stress that the court has been clear that trans people are protected under the Equality Act against discrimination and harassment,” he said.
“The ruling does not change the protection trans people are afforded under the protected characteristic of ‘gender reassignment’, as well as other provisions under the Equality Act.”
Green Party member in Scottish Parliament, Maggie Chapman said the ruling was “a huge blow to some of the most marginalised people in our society.”
“Trans people have been cynically targeted and demonised by politicians and large parts of the media for far too long. This has contributed to attacks on longstanding rights and attempts to erase their existence altogether,” she said.
Meanwhile, trans rights groups like Scottish Trans have urged tis supporters to “remain calm”.
“We are really shocked by today’s Supreme Court decision, which reverses 20 years of understanding of how the law recognises trans men and women with gender recognition certificates,” a spokesperson said, per The Guardian.
“We will continue working for a world in which trans people can get on with their lives with privacy, dignity and safety.
“That is something we all deserve.”
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