LGBT+ rights groups have criticised today’s “incredibly worrying” Supreme Court ruling which states that the Equality Act’s definition of a woman is based on biological sex.
Judges unanimously decided that transgender women with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) should not be treated as a woman under the 2010 Equality Act.
The decision is in response to a challenge brought by campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS), over the inclusion of transgender women with GRCs in the 50 per cent female quota mandated for public boards in Scotland.
Stonewall UK said it shared a “deep concern at the widespread implications” of the ruling, and added it “will be incredibly worrying for the trans community.”
The Good Law Project criticised the court for not hearing evidence from trans people and wrote on social media: “This ruling sets a dangerous precedent and erases trans women from protections. It puts trans rights back 20 years.”
Watch: Moment judge rules on definition of a woman in landmark decision
Athena Stavrou16 April 2025 17:49
Intersex UK asks where intersex people fit into ruling
Intersex campaigners have criticised today’s Supreme Court ruling, asking “where intersex bodied people fit within [the court’s] descriptors of binary sex”.
“The right to engage socially and be respected legally in one’s gender is extremely important for all people,” Holly Greenberry-Pullen, co-founder of IntersexUK and Liberal Democrats Councillor, said.
"Furthermore it’s mental for intersex bodied people; we clearly and unequivocally prove based on our biology that biological sex and its huge wealth of variations highlight that sex is not binary - our common variations do not fit into the archaic definition of male or female sex definitions even if perceptions of us do.
“Defining our own gender and having the right if we chose to define our sec as best fits and beyond binary is vital.”
She added: "It’s vile to recognise that thus ruling to date is politically charged and factually flawed. It’s an embarrassment to British law and has made lives that are already typically traumatic or have been, even more challenging.”
Athena Stavrou16 April 2025 17:11
What does the UK Supreme Court ruling mean for transgender women?
The UK’s Supreme Court handed down a judgement on Wednesday, which has found that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
With potential long-lasting ramifications to how Britain treats its equalities policy, the dispute centres on whether or not somebody with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the 2010 Equality Act.
My colleague Holly Evans explains what the ruling means for transgender women:
What does the UK Supreme Court ruling mean for transgender women?
The ruling from the UK Supreme Court follows a series of legal challenges brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS), backed by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, over the definition of a ‘woman’
Athena Stavrou16 April 2025 16:43
NHS to consider Supreme Court ruling in same-sex ward guidance update
The Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman will be considered as NHS officials update guidance on same-sex wards.
Officials were already updating the guidance and have confirmed the ruling will be considered as they move forward.
Current NHS England guidance on the issue is laid out in a document from 2019 titled Delivering Same-sex Accommodation.
The document states: “Trans people should be accommodated according to their presentation: the way they dress, and the name and pronouns they currently use.”
It adds it “does not depend on their having a gender recognition certificate or legal name change”.
Athena Stavrou16 April 2025 16:13
Fears ruling will be 'deliberately misrepresented as permission to discriminate'
Activists have expressed concern that today’s ruling could “open the door for bad actors” to discriminate against trans people.
The Trans Advocacy and Complaint Collective said that although the court has insisted trans people are still protected under the under the characteristics of gender reassignment, the ruling “creates confusion” that “will be weaponised”.
“It opens the door for bad actors to claim they can legally exclude, misgender, or deny services to trans people, especially trans women, by appealing to “biological sex” as a trump card,” it said
“In practice, this ruling will be misunderstood — in some cases, deliberately misrepresented — as permission to discriminate. It gives cover to those who have always sought to roll back trans rights, and it sends a chilling message: that the law will tolerate ambiguity when it comes to our safety and dignity.”
Athena Stavrou16 April 2025 15:56
Trans women still protected under Equality Act, judges and campaigners stress
The judges said that this interpretation of the law does not cause disadvantage to trans people, who were described as a “potentially vulnerable group”.
They said transgender people are still protected from discrimination, and “would be able to invoke the provisions on direct discrimination and harassment, and indirect discrimination” if needed.
The justices also said that trans people are protected from discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment.
LGBT+ groups such as Stonewall UK also said in its statement: “It’s important to be reminded the court strongly and clearly re-affirmed the Equality Act protects all trans people against discrimination, based on gender reassignment, and will continue to do so.”
Athena Stavrou16 April 2025 15:41
Trans women react to Supreme Court ruling
Transgender women have been responding to the Supreme Court’s ruling today.
Ella Morgan, a TV personality and trans campaigner said she was “speechless” when she saw the court’s decision.
“I woke up today and saw my rights as a human being have been taken away,” she told The Independent.
“Since I’ve been in the public eye, I’ve never been scared, but today was the first time I am worried for me and other trans people.”
Ms Morgan, who was the first trans woman to appear on Channel 4’s Married at First Sight UK, said: “I don’t know how some people will sleep at night when trans people are murdered, assaulted and brutally attacked because of this [ruling].”
She added: “If people think implementing laws will eradicate trans women, they are wrong.
“We have always existed and will always exist, this will never scare as away and if anything our fight will be stronger.”
Athena Stavrou16 April 2025 15:34
What is a gender recognition certificate?
A person can apply for a certificate to have their affirmed or acquired gender legally recognised in the UK.
Obtaining a GRC requires a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, having lived in the acquired gender for at least two years and an intention to live in that gender for the rest of the applicant’s life.
The Supreme Court ruled today that even if trans women have a GRC, they are still not considered women under the Equality Act 2010.
Athena Stavrou16 April 2025 15:19
Trans women can be excluded from single-sex spaces, court rules
Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling means that transgender women with a gender recognition certificate can be excluded from single-sex spaces if “proportionate”.
In an 88-page judgment, justices Lord Hodge, Lady Rose and Lady Simler, said that if “sex” did not only mean biological sex in the 2010 legislation, providers of single-sex spaces including changing rooms, homeless hostels and medical services would face “practical difficulties”.
The justices said: “Read fairly and in context, the provisions relating to single-sex services can only be interpreted by reference to biological sex.”
The justices later said that if sex had its “biological meaning” then service providers could separate male and female users into different groups, such as separate hostels for homeless people.
They added: “If sex means biological sex, then provided it is proportionate, the female only nature of the service … would permit the exclusion of all males including males living in the female gender regardless of GRC status.”
Athena Stavrou16 April 2025 14:50
Supreme Court outcome 'clearly disappointing', says Amnesty International
Amnesty International’s UK Chief Executive Sacha Deshmukh has called the Supreme Court ruling that Trans women are not legally women under the Equality Act “clearly disappointing” and has emphasised that the ruling does not change the protection trans people are afforded.
He said: “The outcome of today’s judgment is clearly disappointing. It is a long and complex judgment, and we will take time to analyse its full implications.
“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.
“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.
“Amnesty intervened in this case to remind the court that legal gender recognition is essential for trans people to enjoy the full spectrum of rights each of us is entitled to, including safety, health and family life.
“The Supreme Court itself today made clear that the vilification of a marginalised minority group is absolutely wrong.”
“All public authorities in the UK need to unequivocally enforce protections for trans people against discrimination and harassment.”
Bryony Gooch16 April 2025 13:45
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