What UK’s Supreme Court ruling on definition of woman means for trans women and rights

The definition of a woman in the UK is now based on biological sex, after the Supreme Court made the decision earlier this week - but what does this mean for trans women?

On Wednesday (16 April), Lord Hodge - the UK Supreme Court judge - ruled that the Equality Act's definition of a 'woman' is now based on biological sex.

While the new ruling has been deemed a major set-back by the trans community, the judge firmly expressed that this should not be viewed as a triumph for right-leaning representatives, and that the law will still give transgender people protection against discrimination.

But what does this mean for the rights of trans women all across the UK?

What is the ruling?

The campaign group celebrated outside the Supreme Court following the ruling (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The ruling made in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, means that the definition of a 'woman' is now solely based on the biological sex of a person at birth.

Meaning that a trans woman is now, in the eyes of the law, not legally a woman.

After being tasked with deciding on the correct interpretation of 'sex' and 'woman', the judge noted that the concept of sex 'is binary'.

What prompted the change in definition?

The FWS were granted an appeal earlier this year (Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Wednesday's ruling was in response to a lawsuit from campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS), who were fighting against the Scottish government's 2018 guidance that said a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate was legally a woman.

The group argued that the Equality Act should only apply to biological sex, but they initially lost the case in the Scottish courts.

The Equality Act law is there to cover incidents such as harassment across multiple areas like employment, housing, education and transport.

The FWS were granted an appeal last year, and subsequently succeeded in the Supreme Court earlier this week.

What does this mean for trans women and their rights?

The trans community is, understandably, 'extremely worried' about the ruling (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

While Lord Hodge expressed that the new ruling will not 'have the effect of disadvantaging' the trans community, the change in definition has been monumental for trans women across the UK.

While the intricacies of the ruling have not yet been outlined, it's thought that the new rule could tighten restrictions on single-sex spaces, such as changing rooms, homeless shelters, hospital wards or hostels.

The spokesperson for the Labour government said: "The NHS is currently reviewing their 'Delivering same-sex accommodation' guidance which details how trans patients should be placed in clinical settings, alongside women feeling confident."

How have LGBTQ+ groups responded?

Simon Blake, CEO of LGBTQ+ rights group Stonewall, expressed that it was an 'extremely worrying' time for the trans community.

Vic Valentine, manager of Scottish Trans, also said: "Trans people need to be able to recover on hospital wards, use toilets, go swimming and access services just like anyone else."

Meanwhile Refuge, Britain's largest domestic abuse charity which is just for women, said it would not change the way it operates.

CEO Gemma Sherrington released a statement, which noted: "We remain firmly committed to supporting all survivors of domestic abuse, including trans women."