In a landmark judgment delivered on Wednesday, Britain’s highest court held that the definition of woman is limited to biological women and does not include trans women.
Britain’s Supreme Court held unanimously that the definition of a woman in equality legislation refers to “a biological woman and biological sex,” sparking celebrations outside the court among gender-critical campaigners.
Reacting to the Supreme Court ruling, a government spokesperson said:
“We have always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex.
“This ruling brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs.
“Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.”
Lord Hodge told the court the Equality Act (EA) was very clear that its provisions dealt with biological sex at birth, and not with a person’s acquired gender, regardless of whether they held a gender recognition certificate. That affected policy-making on gender in sports and the armed services, hospitals, as well as women-only charities, and access to changing rooms and women-only spaces, he said.
Hodge urged people not to see the decision “as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”. He said all transgender people had clear legal protections under the 2010 Act against discrimination and harassment.
Click here to download the full judgment.
For-Women-Scotland-Ltd-v-The-Scottish-Ministers-Who-is-a-Woman-uksc_2024_0042_judgment_aea6c48ceeRead Also: Breaking! UK Supreme Court backs biological definition of ‘woman’
