If you're a UK resident, please also sign the petition to Parliament

On April 16th, 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled that “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers only to biological sex—even for people who have legally transitioned under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This ruling, which hinges on the interpretation of Section 11, drastically limits trans people’s rights under the Act. This creates a dangerous precedent: by defaulting to biological sex, it excludes trans people—especially trans women—from all parts of the Equality Act that refer to “man,” “woman,” or “sex,” including access to single-sex services, sports, and employment. It enables the exclusion of trans people, especially trans women, from protections, services, spaces, and opportunities designed to ensure safety and equality.

Trans people already face disproportionate levels of violence, homelessness, and discrimination. This ruling does not create clarity—it creates vulnerability. It tells trans people they are “exceptions” to equality. It allows the law to be used as a weapon, not a shield.

Under this interpretation, trans people—despite being generally protected under the Equality Act 2010—can no longer be recognised as their gender in key legal contexts, even if they hold a Gender Recognition Certificate:

• Single-sex services (Schedule 3)
• Sports (Schedule 16)
• Occupational requirements (Schedule 9)
• Positive action (Sections 158–159)

We are calling on the UK Government and Parliament to amend the Equality Act 2010 to:

• Protect access to single-sex services (Schedule 3)
  Ensure that trans people—especially trans women—are not lawfully excluded from women’s spaces such as domestic violence shelters, hospital wards, or changing rooms. These spaces must be safe for all women, including those who are most often targeted by male violence, such as trans women.
• Create inclusive sport regulations (Schedule 16)
  Enable fair, evidence-based participation in sport without blanket exclusions based on biology. The historical separation of sports was never solely about fairness—trans people should not be penalised by outdated systems that don’t reflect medical nuance or personal experience.
• Uphold trans inclusion in positive action programs (Sections 158–159)
  Clarify that efforts to support women in leadership, employment, and education must include trans women. Trans women are underrepresented and face intersecting barriers—excluding them undermines the very purpose of positive action.
• Safeguard occupational roles for trans professionals (Schedule 9)
  Prevent discriminatory hiring practices that exclude trans people from gender-specific roles in trauma care, social services, or healthcare. Survivors of abuse should have options, not state-mandated restrictions that erase trans professionals.
• Allow trans people to bring sex-based discrimination claims (Section 11)
  Modernise the law to allow people to bring discrimination cases based on how they live and are treated—not just the sex they were assigned at birth. Protection from unfair treatment should apply to all marginalised genders.
•  Recognise legally acquired gender as valid in sex-based protections
  When a person has legally transitioned under the Gender Recognition Act, their gender identity should be fully respected in law—including in how “sex” is interpreted. The current ruling reduces GRCs to symbolic documents and renders trans people invisible in legal protections.

This is not about erasing sex-based rights—it’s about ensuring they aren’t used as tools of exclusion, and updating the law to reflect modern scientific and psychological understanding. We can—and must—uphold protections for women without harming trans people in the process. Fairness and safety are not opposites. They are allies, and the law should reflect that.