UK Supreme Court Says Trans Women are Not Legally Women Under Equality Act

UK Supreme Court Says Trans Women are Not Legally Women Under Equality Act

The Supreme Court in Britain ruled on Wednesday that trans women do not fall within the legal definition of women under the country’s equality legislation.

The landmark judgment, which said that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, is a blow to campaigners for transgender rights. It could have far-reaching consequences for how the law is applied in Britain to some single-sex services like domestic violence shelters, as well as to equal pay claims and maternity policies.

It follows a yearslong legal battle that began in Scotland over whether trans women can be regarded as female under Britain’s 2010 Equality Act, which aims to prevent discrimination. And it comes amid intense and at times bitter public debate over the intersection of transgender rights and women’s rights.

Announcing the decision on Wednesday, the deputy president of the court, Lord Hodge, said: “The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological women and biological sex.”

However, he added: “We counsel against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another, it is not.” He said the ruling “does not cause disadvantage to trans people” because they continue to have protections against discrimination under another part of the Equality Act.

Lord Hodge began his remarks by acknowledging the national conversation about transgender rights, and described trans people as a “vulnerable and often harassed minority,” while noting that women had long fought for equal rights with men.

He added: “It is not the task of this court to make policy on how the interests of these groups should be protected” but “to ascertain the meaning of the legislation which Parliament has enacted.”