Here is yet more bad news for not just trans people, non-binary people and intersex people, but for ALL WOMEN and for ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS too! Let me explain…
WHAT HAPPENED?
On the 16th of April, we had the Supreme Court ruling which said that sex is binary – which it isn’t, as 1.7% of people are intersex. They also said that for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 only, that “sex” means “biological sex”, which, in their scientifically incorrect definition, is the sex that a person is assigned at birth. This of course, rules out trans people. Not that they care, as they refused to hear evidence from a single trans person, even though their decision affects us massively.
However, there is no definition of “biological sex” as sex is far more complex than that. Many factors affect sex, including hormonal balance, chromosomes (of which there are many more combinations than just XX and XY), hormonal balance in the womb, what is written on your birth certificate (which for trans people with a Gender Recognition Certificate, would be updated) and of course, primary sex characteristics (your genitalia) and secondary sex characteristics (i.e. how masculine or feminine your physical features look), or a mixture of all of these. Gender, however, is much more straightforward, as it’s a deep-seated feeling of how male or how female you are. You don’t choose it, you just know it – in a similar way that you know who you are sexually attracted too. It’s just what feels right.
The court ruling was bad enough, but then things got worse…
Within a few days of the court ruling, some interim guidance was issued by the trans-hostile Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is chaired by the trans-hostile Baroness Kishwar Faulkner, who was appointed by the trans-hostile Kemi Badenoch when she was the previous government’s Equalities Minister, who herself was appointed the trans-hostile former Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose tenure at Number 10 was outlived by a lettuce! Baroness Faulkner’s position as Chairperson of the EHRC was extended by our current trans-hostile Prime Minister Keir Starmer as part of his mission to capture right-wing voters. Trans people have become expendable pawns as UK politics lurches ever further to the right.
The interim guidance (which was endorsed by the trans-hostile, so-called “Equalities” Minister, Bridget Phillipson, stated that transgender women are men and that we should not use ladies’ loos and other same-sex facilities such as hospital wards. It also stated that trans men are women and that they should not use the gents’ toilets and facilities. Apparently, they should not use the ladies’ loos either, if they look too masculine! Where are they supposed to go when they are desperate for a wee, but there is only a choice of ladies and gents loos? Should all trans people be expected to wear adult nappies now? The guidance said that separate toilets should be provided for transgender people. No-one should be put in the position of outing themselves as being trans, by being forced to use a separate toilet to cisgender (non-trans) people. That’s nothing short of TRANS APARTHEID. It reminds me of the disgusting systemic racism in the USA from the 1890’s to the 1960s when there were separate toilets for gents, ladies and “coloureds”. Appalling. This should not be happening to trans people in the UK in 2025!
WHAT AFFECT HAS THIS HAD ON TRANS PEOPLE?
Trans people are scared right now. We are really frightened. I think I am one of the more resilient trans people, but I have been crying a lot over the last couple of weeks. Many of my trans friends are now too afraid to leave the house. They have been forced to hide themselves away, for their own safety. Already, I have heard stories of security guards (at supposedly LGBTQIA+ friendly venues) throwing trans women out of ladies loos and the British Transport Police have said that male officers will now conduct intimate searches in custody of any woman they suspect to be transgender. But how will they know and how many non-trans women will they be assaulting? I know of at least 7 trans people who have attempted to take their own life since the biased and cruel Supreme Court ruling. I visited one of them in hospital – Leicester Royal Infirmary. She is a 74-year-old transgender woman (with a Gender Recognition Certificate) who fully transitioned in her mid-30s, including having lower surgery and she is completely accepted as a woman by all her friends and those who meet her. She was so desperate and she told me that she just couldn’t go on any longer as she felt so rejected by society. This is the devastating effect that this appalling ruling and guidance are having on real people who just want to live their life in peace.
WHY SHOULD ALL WOMEN BE WORRIED?
The ruling and guidance has not only made trans and non-binary people scared though. It has set back the rights of ALL women by at least 50 years. It will embolden vigilantes to hang around ladies’ loos and to confront (and probably film) any woman accessing that space who doesn’t conform to their out-dated view of what a woman should look like. Also, if a predatory man wants to gain access to women’s spaces, he only has to walk in now and pretend to be a trans man! This has only succeeded to stir up hate. For Women Scotland (backed by JK Rowling) has done the opposite of protecting women’s spaces.
WHY SHOULD ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS BE WORRIED?
Also, if you are a service provider, this ruling and guidance has put your business at enormous risk of being sued by both trans-hostile people and by trans people. You just cannot win, whatever you do, as the ruling and guidance conflicts with both the Gender Recognition Act 2004, with GDPR and with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Also, if you discriminate against a trans or non-binary person, you will be in breach of the Equality Act 2010, under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. I think we will rapidly see the demise of same-sex toilets and individual gender-neutral loos will become the norm. That will be a good thing though, as it’s the most inclusive thing to do anyway. Make no mistake, this ruling will cost businesses, billions.
WHAT SHOULD TRANS PEOPLE DO NOW?
However, so far, THE INTERIM GUIDANCE IS NOT LEGALY BINDING. The law has NOT changed – YET! My advice to trans people is to just carry on using the facilities that you are comfortable using. There is currently no law to stop you from doing so. The problem is all the misinformation about the ruling which is being pumped out by the media, the Government and the EHRC, which is stirring up so much hatred and division.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
If you think that the Supreme Court ruling and guidance is unfair and you would like to help us to fight it, please act quickly, as speed is of the essence. Here are some of the things you can do…
- Please donate as much as you can afford to the Good Law Project, which is a wonderful organisation who are planning to challenge the ruling, in conjunction with the UK’s first transgender Judge Victoria McCloud, in the European Court of Human Rights. If they can get it there, I think they have a good chance of winning, but it will cost a lot of money, so please help them to help us.
- Please write to to your MP and explain why this is causing so much harm to trans and non-binary people, intersex people, all women women who have a more masculine appearance and for all service providers too. While the link above will give you your MP’s email address, a physical letter will be more effective as it will actually end up on their desk, rather than lost among thousands of other emails. The address for your MP is [Name of your member of Parliament] MP, The House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA. Please CLICK HERE for a fantastic guide by Prof. Stephen Whittle OBE on how to write an effective letter to your MP.
- You could write to Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer and tell him the same thing. His postal address is as above.
- You could write to The Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson MP and tell her the same thing. Her postal address is as above.
- If you own or run a business, you should write to the Secretary of Trade for Business and Trade, The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP and tell him how worried you are at having to pay out thousands to reconfigure your toilets or changing rooms, while still being put at risk of being sued from both sides. His postal address is as above.
- You could write to Baroness Kishwar Faulkner of Margravaine, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Windsor House, 50 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0TL.
- You could write to Baroness Jacqui Smith of Malvern, Minister for Women and Equalities, The House of Lords, London, Sw1A0AA.
- Please make your voice heard by signing petitions which support us.
- You could go to trans rights protests. There are lots of them all over the country.
- If you are a cisgender (that’s non-trans) women, please take part in my social media campaign where you film yourself holding a sign saying “Trans women can share my space”. More details are on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
- You could buy some stickers from trans artist Sophie Green which say “Trans women are welcome here”. I know it would make my heart glow if I saw one of those stickers on the main door of any ladies’ loo or facility that I use.
- Or if you are a trans man and you are comfortable outing yourself along with a group of other trans men, you could all quietly and peacefully enter a busy ladies’ loo en-masse, while holding up signs saying, “This is where Keir Starmer wants me to pee!” or “I am a trans man and if you don’t like me being in here, write to your MP!” Very importantly though, please stay peaceful and if an official asks you to leave, you must leave immediately, but then make a claim against the service provider for sex discrimination, so don’t forget to make a note of the official’s name, the time and the place where the discrimination happened. I have checked with a lawyer and this is all within the law as it stands at the moment. Cases such as this would highlight very effectively how unjust the Supreme Court ruling is.
Finally, please show your support for trans people and check in with them frequently to see if they are OK. Most will not be OK at the moment.
Stay safe everyone. xx
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