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Supreme Court latest: Judges rule on definition of a woman in landmark case

Supreme Court latest: Judges rule on definition of a woman in landmark case

Sky News16-04-2025

The key moment from the judge's ruling
Watch the moment Lord Hodge announced it was the "unanimous decision" of the Supreme Court that the terms "woman" and "sex" refer to a biological woman and biological sex in the Equality Act 2010...
Ruling 'absolutely' a victory for women's rights, says campaigner
Some reaction now from For Women Scotland, the campaign group that brought the case against the Scottish government - which made its way from courts in Edinburgh to the highest civil court in the UK, the Supreme Court.
The group's director Trina Budge has just spoken to our Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies, describing the outcome in court minutes ago as a "victory".
While the judge cautioned against seeing the ruling as a win, Budge said: "This case was always about women's rights... never about trans rights."
"It's absolutely a victory for women's rights," she said.
Transgender people, she added, are "fully protected in law" - as the judge said.
"It means there's absolute clarity in law regarding all women... and that when we see a women-only space, it means exactly that," she added.
"Just women. No men. Not even if they have a gender recognition certificate."
That's not a view shared by Scottish Greens activist Ellie Gomersall, who is a trans woman.
As we reported at 10.26, she said it "ends 20 years of understanding" that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate are "able to be, for almost all intents and purposes, recognised legally as our true genders".
In pictures: Campaigners sing Auld Lang Syne after ruling
Here are some images of the celebrations by For Women Scotland campaigners in Edinburgh after news of this morning's verdict.
Our Scotland correspondent Connor Gillies is among the group as they break into a rendition of Auld Lang Syne, the classic Scottish song based on a poem by Robert Burns.
Ruling 'undermines vital human rights', trans activist says
We can now bring you some reaction to this ruling from Scottish Greens activist Ellie Gomersall, a 25-year-old trans woman who lives in Glasgow.
"I'm gutted to see this judgement from the Supreme Court, which ends 20 years of understanding that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate are able to be, for almost all intents and purposes, recognised legally as our true genders," she says.
"These protections were put in place in 2004 following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, meaning today's ruling undermines the vital human rights of my community to dignity, safety and the right to be respected for who we are.
"This ruling represents yet another attack on the rights of trans people to live our lives in peace.
"With hate crimes against trans people on the rise across Britain, it's time for the UK Labour government to stop sitting on the fence when it comes to the human rights of trans people, to step up, and defend one of the most vulnerable minorities in the country."
'A very practical, common-sense decision'
We've just heard from legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg reacting to the judge's remarks.
"This is a way of bringing clarity to a very confused area of the law," he says. "I think it's a very practical decision. It's a very common-sense decision."
Rozenberg says this decision gets round many "practical problems" that the judge outlined during his remarks.
"But, as you heard, Lord Hodge went to considerable lengths to say that although this was a victory for the campaign group, it wasn't a defeat for the trans community.
"He was making it very clear that their rights are protected. It doesn't mean that they can be discriminated against. They have rights under the Equalities Act."
Rozenberg praises the decision for being "very clear and decisive", which he says will no doubt please those who feared today's ruling might have created "some sort of grey area".
Unanimous decision greeted by cheers - but there will be disappointment for trans campaigners
Speaking outside the Supreme Court, our correspondent Alice Porter hears cheers from campaigners against the Scottish government.
She says the judge ruled it was a unanimous decision of the court that in the case of the 2010 Equality Act refers to biological sex - and not necessarily somebody who has a gender recognition certificate.
"That was what this case rested on," she adds.
"Now, this will be welcomed by For Women Scotland, but of course there will be transgender campaigners and the community who will be very disappointed by the decision today at the Supreme Court."
Judge: Trans people still have protection under law
In his ruling, which ended a short moment ago, Lord Hodge said: "As I shall explain later in this hand down speech, the Equality Act 2010 gives transgender people protection, not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment in substance in their acquired gender."
'Woman' refers to biological sex, says judge
It's the "unanimous decision" of this court that the terms "woman" and "sex" refer to a biological woman and biological sex in the Equality Act 2010, Lord Hodge says.
"But we counsel against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another," he adds, as he prepares to set out a definitive ruling shortly.
"The Equality Act 2010 gives transgender people protection not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment in substance in their acquired gender.
"This is the application of the principle of discrimination by association.
"Those statutory protections are available to transgender people, whether or not they possess a gender recognition certificate."
His full remarks are not over yet, but there were cheers for supporters of For Women Scotland in Edinburgh when the judge read out this part of his remarks.
Judge sets out central question of today's ruling
Lord Hodge is now speaking in the Supreme Court and sets out today's case.
He says it's not the task of the court to make policy on how the interests of the trans community should be protected.
"Our role is to ascertain the meaning of the legislation which parliament has enacted to that end," he says.
"The central question on this appeal is the meaning of the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010.
"Do those terms refer to biologic women or biological sex? Or is a woman to be interpreted as extending to a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate?"
Watch the ruling live from court now
Proceedings have begun and we can now bring you live footage from inside the Supreme Court.
Watch the landmark ruling live in the stream at the top of the page - and we'll bring you text updates too.

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