Supreme Court rules that the word ‘woman’ in UK law refers to ‘biological women’

This morning the UK Supreme Court has ruled that the term ‘woman’ in UK law refers only to ‘biological women’.

“The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex,” announced Lord Hodge.

“But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another, it is not,” he continued.

The ruling comes at the end of a long legal battle that began in 2018 when the women’s group For Women Scotland brought a case against the Scottish government for including trans women in its gender quotas for public sector boards.

The Scottish government argued that anyone with a gender recognition certificate should enjoy same-sex protections whilst For Women Scotland argued these protections should extend only to people assigned female at birth, an argument which was supported by a number of Scottish courts before For Women Scotland brought an appeal to the Supreme Court.

In spite of Lord Hodge’s words regarding today’s ruling not being seen as a “triumph”, a number of For Women Scotland activists were seen celebrating, drinking champagne, outside of the court once it had adjourned.

Lord Hodge also noted that trans people have separate protections under the Equality Act, but that to interpret the words “woman” and “sex” as being based on what sex a person is “certificated” with rather than biologically born with would weaken the rights of biological women.

“The suggestion that trans people are still protected under the Equality Act appears to ask, rather than answer a whole host of questions,” notes jane fae, director of TransActual, an organisation dedicated to encouraging accurate reporting of trans people in the media. “The court has drawn a distinction between biological sex and, not-biological sex, but no definition is provided of either.”

Today’s decision by the Supreme Court will now affect how sex-based rights are applied via the Equality Act across all of Great Britain.

“The entire trans community is devastated,” fae commented on the ruling. “Irrespective of the small print on this ruling, the intent seems clear: to exclude trans people wholesale from participating in UK society. This morning, we are feeling very alone.”

“Most of the legal protections trans people had in this country came from the European Court of Human Rights. The British government and the UK Supreme Court were never our friends unless forced to be,” said Shon Faye, author of The Transgender Issue, in an Instagram story posted after the court’s ruling. “Unless a UK trans woman can take a case to Strasbourg the legal picture is very bleak.”

“Practically very little will change for most trans women, who have been dealing with a hostile environment in this country for many years,” Faye continued. “I’m gutted thought because these people won’t stop here – they have a taste for it now.”

Speaking to Attitude ahead of the court’s decision yesterday, Jo Maugham of the Good Law Project said: “There is no rule in the law more sacred than the need to hear from someone before you consider removing their rights; For Women Scotland was hostile to and seeking to remove rights from trans people; and the Supreme Court allowed interventions from a whole range of further organisations hostile to trans people but refused to hear from any trans people.

“I felt – and even recalling it now I feel – physically sick,” Maugham continued.

“The truth is, trans organisations are afraid to litigate to defend trans rights because their experience is that it means their staff experience threats of violence and they face reprisals from so-called regulators like the Charity Commision and financially crippling attacks in the press,” Maugham went on. “And the Supreme Court’s approach, whatever its decision, has made matters worse.”

Please note this story is breaking and will be updated as the story develops throughout today.