The decision was welcomed by some activists, but transgender campaigners warned it could lead to discrimination.
The United Kingdom’s highest court has ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” refer to a “biological woman and biological sex” under British equality laws, a landmark decision greeted with concern by supporters of transgender rights but welcomed by the government as bringing clarity.
The highly anticipated ruling on Wednesday centred on whether a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate (GRC), a formal document giving legal recognition of someone’s new gender, is protected from discrimination as a woman under Britain’s Equality Act.
The decision confirms that single-sex services for women such as refuges, hospital wards and sports can exclude trans women, clearing up legal ambiguity. Transgender campaigners said the decision could lead to discrimination, especially over employment issues.
“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,” said Deputy President of the Supreme Court Patrick Hodge.
“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.”
Transgender rights have become a polarising political issue in the UK and other parts of the world. Some critics say the conservative right has weaponised identity politics to attack minority groups, while others argue that support for transgender people has infringed on the rights of biological women.
In the United States, legal challenges are under way after US President Donald Trump issued executive orders that include barring transgender people from military service.
The judgement in Britain followed legal action by a campaign group, For Women Scotland (FWS), against guidance issued by the devolved Scottish government that accompanied a 2018 law designed to increase the proportion of women on public-sector boards.
The guidance said a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate was legally a woman. FWS, which was backed by lesbian rights groups, lost its case in the Scottish courts, but the Supreme Court ruled in its favour.
“Today the judges have said what we always believed to be the case: that women are protected by their biological sex, that sex is real and that women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women,” Susan Smith, co-director of FWS, told cheering supporters outside court.
‘Deeply concerned’
Britain’s Labour government said the Supreme Court’s decision would bring clarity for hospitals, refuges and sports clubs.
“Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government,” a government spokesperson said.
In an example of the ruling’s potential impact, a Scottish health organisation that is being sued by a nurse it suspended over her response to a trans woman using a female changing room said it had noted the judgement.
“We will now take time to carefully consider the judgement and its implications,” a spokesperson for NHS Fife said.
The Supreme Court said trans people – whether trans women or men – would not be disadvantaged by its decision, as the Equality Act afforded them protection against discrimination or harassment.
Trans rights campaigners said the ruling had worrying implications.
“Today is a challenging day, and we are deeply concerned at the widespread, harmful implications of today’s Supreme Court ruling,” a consortium of LGBT+ organisations, including the prominent group Stonewall, said in a statement.
“We need to take the time to digest the full implications of the ruling and to understand what this will mean on both legal and practical levels … it is important to be reminded that the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Equality Act protects trans people against discrimination.”
Trans woman and campaigner Ellie Gomersall said the ruling was “another attack on the rights of trans people to live our lives in peace”.
Legal experts said the ruling showed equality legislation might need to be urgently updated to ensure trans people were protected.
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