UK Supreme Court Rules Legal Definition of ‘Woman’ Excludes Trans-Identifying Biological Men
The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Wednesday that the legal definition of “woman” under the Equality Act applies solely to individuals who are biologically female, excluding biological males who identify as women.
The court held that transgender-identifying individuals, even those with gender recognition certificates, may be lawfully excluded from single-sex spaces and services intended exclusively for women. These include changing rooms, swimming facilities, homeless shelters, and medical or counseling services designed specifically for women.
Justice Patrick Hodge noted that the ruling “does not remove protection from trans people,” who are “protected from discrimination on the ground of gender reassignment.”
“Interpreting ‘sex’ as certificated sex would cut across the definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ … and, thus, the protected characteristic of sex in an incoherent way,” Hodge stated. “It would create heterogeneous groupings.”
The ruling has been welcomed by women’s rights advocates, who say it reaffirms the right to female-only spaces. Susan Smith, co-director of For Women Scotland, said, “Everyone knows what sex is and you can’t change it.”
“It’s common sense, basic common sense and the fact that we have been down a rabbit hole where people have tried to deny science and to deny reality and hopefully this will now see us back to, back to reality,” Smith added.
Smith’s group brought the case forward after two lower Scottish courts rejected its argument that the term “woman” in the Equality Act referred only to biological females. The campaign group has also been financially supported by author JK Rowling.
A spokesperson for the UK government also praised the ruling, saying it brings “clarity and confidence” for women and those running institutions such as hospitals and sports clubs.
“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, according to The Guardian.
