Trans activists climb The Daily Telegraph building in protest of media hostility
The protest follows news of the UK Supreme Court ruling yesterday that the term ‘woman’ in UK law refers only to ‘biological women’
Two activists from Trans Kids Deserve Better climbed The Daily Telegraph offices in London today (Thursday 17 April 2025), protesting against hostility towards trans people in British mainstream media.
The move follows yesterday’s news of UK Supreme Court ruling that the term ‘woman’ in UK law refers only to ‘biological women’.
The Telegraph has published at least 40 articles on trans issues on its website in the two weeks leading up to the ruling.
“Every time I see an article from the Telegraph, my heart sinks”
Displaying a banner reading ‘The Daily SMELLegraph’, one of the unnamed activists said in a statement: “Every time I see an article from the Telegraph, my heart sinks. Why would a group of adults dogpile and bully oppressed children who just want to live as their true selves?
“They write countless articles on us, but do we ever get asked for our input? Of course not. They don’t see us as human children, just another scapegoat to demonise.”
In another statement shared in a press release by Trans Kids Deserve Better, the second activist said: “The Telegraph uses us as slop for brain-rotted transphobes to drool over as they pretend they stand for women. Don’t let them pretend they want trans kids safe, and don’t let them convince you they want women safe. They want nothing more than engagement, and we all lose by fighting each other.”
“We counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”
Announcing yesterday’s ruling, Lord Hodge said: “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.
“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.”
“The suggestion that trans people are still protected under the Equality Act appears to ask, rather than answer a whole host of questions,” responded 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.”
“The entire trans community is devastated,” fae furthermore told Attitude of 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.”