Summary
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The UK Supreme Court rules that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex
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Judges say the “concept of sex is binary” while cautioning that the landmark ruling should not be seen as victory of one side over another
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Transgender people still have legal protection from discrimination, the court adds – read the full 88-page judgement here
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The Scottish government had argued that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) are entitled to sex-based protections, while For Women Scotland argued they only apply to people that are born female
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For Women Scotland says it’s grateful for the decision after a “long road” of legal battles, while charity Scottish Trans urges people “not to panic”
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The Scottish government says it acted “in good faith” and will work with Westminster to understand the full implications of the ruling
Out of the legal arena and into the political
Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent, at the Supreme Court
The law is drafted by politicians – and it can be changed at the stroke of a pen. The issue may now move out of the legal arena and back into the political one.
There had been some pressure on the UK government to clarify the Equality Act – which is Westminster legislation.
The court has handily done that for them, and UK ministers have welcomed the ruling. There may be more political pressure on the Scottish government, given it has lost this case.
For a long time, ministers have batted away questions about this case – such as, do they really believe in the legal points their lawyers are making? – by saying they can’t comment on live litigation.
They will have to go into a little more detail now, but I imagine this issue is still just about the last thing they want to talk about.
There had been some speculation a ruling like this could raise the prospect of ministers re-launching their attempts at gender reform at Holyrood.
But frankly there is not the political will in the John Swinney administration to ride into battle on this issue, as there was under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon.
With a Holyrood election looming, there is no prospect of the first minister deciding to wade back into such a contentious debate.
But with For Women Scotland now hoping to use this ruling to hold his feet to fire when it comes to broader government policies and guidance, it is one he will need to address.
Campaigner: ‘Devastated and in tears’, this feels like a ‘physical punch’
“We are devastated, and in tears,” says Jane Fae, director of the advocacy group TransActual UK – before telling the BBC’s World At One programme that the judgement is like a “physical punch”.
“What it feels like for pretty much every trans, non-binary person in the UK is that you’d like to exclude us wholesale from UK society. So today we’re feeling very alone.”
The judgement “opens up a can of worms”, and at the moment it’s not clear which spaces this applies to, Fae says. If the ruling means “any space that you might associate with women can now be used to exclude trans women… it means we can’t participate in society”, she adds.
There are implications for trans men, too, Fae says:
“You are going to see some very moustachioed, balding, whiskered trans men in women’s loos if you go down that road, and it’s possible that trans men could be doubly excluded so they are not allowed in women’s spaces as trans men but not allowed in trans places as women – it is very confusing.”
(BBC)
