The legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex and not gender, decided on Wednesday the British Supreme Court, in a very sensitive decision which could have significant consequences for transgender women in the United Kingdom.
The dispute has opposed the Scottish government since 2018 since 2018, which has strongly committed to the rights of transgender people in recent years, and the feminist association called “For Women Scotland”.
“The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms + woman + and + + sex + in the 2010 Equality Act refer to a biological woman and a biological sex,” judged the magistrates of the highest British judicial body.
However, the Supreme Court assured that transgender people were protected by this law, “not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender change, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment linked to their acquired gender”.
The decision was greeted by cries of joy of several dozen activists from “For Women Scotland”. “I tremble (…) It’s a great day,” reacted one of them.
JK Rowling support
“We thought that women’s rights were going to go back and today, the judges said what we have always thought: women are protected by their biological sex,” said Susan Smith, co -director of this group. “Women can now feel safe knowing that the services and designated spaces for women are reserved for women,” she added.
For their part, LGBT+ associations had said before the judgment fear that transgender women can no longer access certain places, including accommodation centers for women.
This is an extremely divisive subject, at the origin of a violent quarrel between defenders of the rights of trans and activists believing that women’s rights are threatened by some of their demands.
At the heart of the debate was the interpretation of the British law on Equality (Equality Act) of 2010.
For the Scottish government, this text was clear: if a transgender woman obtained a certificate of gender recognition (RCMP) at the end of her transition, she is considered a woman, and is entitled to the same “protections as those declared women at birth”.
The association “For Women Scotland” notably received the support of the author of “Harry Potter” JK Rowling, who lives in Scotland and has multiplied the positions on the subject, worth it to be accused of transphobia.
After a first victory before the Scottish justice, this association was dismissed twice in 2023.
Echo to the United States
In total, some 8,500 people have obtained a GRC certificate in the United Kingdom since the creation of this system in 2004, the Scottish government said in November.
The decision of the Supreme Court could find an echo to the United States.
Since his return to the White House in January, Donald Trump has been targeting transgender people by wanting to expel them from the army or restrict transitional procedures for those under 19.
The British conservatives, who lost the legislative elections in the summer of 2024, had committed themselves in the event of a victory to bring “clarifications” in the law so that the word “sex” is limited to biological sex.
This subject has always been particularly thorny in Scotland. In 2022, the local government had voted a law to facilitate gender change without medical advice from the age of 16. This text had been blocked by the conservative government in London.
In January 2023, the Scottish authorities also had to announce the suspension of the transfer of any transgender detainee with history of violence against women to a prison for women, after two cases which had shocked public opinion.
