Samantha Mythen
BRITAIN’S highest court ruled on Wednesday that only biological, and not trans women, meet the definition of a woman under equality laws, in a landmark decision.
It was held that the terms ‘women’ and ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex. In practice, the ruling means trans women can be excluded from single-sex services for women, including refuges, hospital wards and sports.
“But we counsel against reading this judgment as a triumph for one or more groups in our society at the expense of another – it is not,” Supreme Court deputy president Patrick Hodge said.
READ MORE: Spain approves pioneering transgender bill that puts it at forefront of LGTBI rights
Spanish law takes a different approach to the definition of ‘women.’ In the context of its own equality laws such as Ley de Igualdad, the gender definition focuses more on socially constructed roles and characteristics. It recognises the importance of biological sex, but counts this as just one factor when defining gender.
Furthermore, Spain passed legislation in 2023 allowing anyone over 16 to change their legally registered sex on official documents, without medical supervision. Before this, a person had to be diagnosed by multiple doctors with gender dysphoria. The new law favours self-identification.
The month prior to the Spanish gender self-identification law passing, Westminster blocked a similar trans rights law proposed in Scotland. Critics of the Scottish bill said it could endanger women in same-sex spaces like domestic abuse shelters.
Spain has become a world leader in recognising LGBTQ+ rights, however, the Spanish socialist government has faced recent accusations of transphobia.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez detailed plans to limit participation in female sports to “people with a female biological sex,” in a policy annoucements during his party’s congress in December.
The policy also included removing the Q+, which refers to people who are queer and do not fit into a gender or sexuality category, from the LGBTQ+ acronym.
UK Supreme Court case background
Wednesday’s case first entered UK courts after legal action by campaign group For Women Scotland against guidance from a previous Scottish government on a 2018 law created to increase the number of women on public sector boards. This guidance said a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate was legally a woman.
The FWS lost its case in the Scottish courts until it reached the Supreme Court who ruled in the group’s favour this week.
Transgender campaigners are calling out the Supreme Court’s decision, saying they are ‘deeply concerned’ at its ‘widespread, harmful implications.’
“We need to take the time to digest the full implications of the ruling and to understand what this will mean on both legal and practical levels,” a group of UK LGBT+ organisations said in a statement.
“It is important to be reminded that the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Equality Act protects trans people against discrimination,” they continued.
The British government said the ruling would bring long-term clarity for businesses and public services like hospitals.
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