Latest news with #SusanSmith
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Scottish Government ordered to pay costs after landmark gender ruling over definition of ‘woman'
It comes after a three-year battle from feminist campaigners FOOT THE BILL Scottish Government ordered to pay costs after landmark gender ruling over definition of 'woman' THE Scottish Government has been ordered to cough up costs to feminist campaigners after losing a high-profile legal fight over the definition of a woman. Taxpayers are set to foot the bill, with For Women Scotland (FWS) expecting to recover around £250,000 of the £417,000 spent on the gruelling three-year court battle. Advertisement 4 Marion Calder, right, and Susan Smith, left, from For Women Scotland, celebrate outside after the U.K. Supreme Court Credit: AP 4 A court order has ruled the Scottish Government must pay FWS's costs and expenses Credit: Rex 4 The decision has sparked outrage amongst transgender communities Credit: Lesley Martin 2025 A court order issued on Tuesday confirmed the payout, which covers expenses from both the Court of Session and the UK Supreme Court. Last month, FWS emerged victorious when five Supreme Court judges unanimously ruled that the Equality Act defines a 'woman' as based on biological sex – a major blow to the Scottish Government's stance. The ruling also confirmed that a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) does not alter a person's sex under the Equality Act. The legal saga began in 2017 when the Scottish Government introduced the Gender Representation on Public Boards Bill, designed to boost female representation. Advertisement The legislation controversially included trans women – even those without a GRC – under the definition of 'women.' Outraged by the move, FWS argued the definition clashed with the Equality Act 2010, which provides sex-based protections for biological women. Despite an initial defeat, they won on appeal in 2022, with judges declaring that biological sex could not be redefined. The Scottish Government revised its guidance, while claiming GRC holders change their legal sex. Advertisement FWS made another legal challenge, insisting that 'sex' in the Equality Act refers strictly to biological sex – a position now upheld by the Supreme Court. Today's order states that the Scottish Government is 'liable for the appellant's costs in the Supreme Court, to include the costs of one leading and one junior counsel, assessed on the standard basis if not agreed'. It is also responsible for the expenses of FWS. The Scottish Conservative Party previously revealed with a Freedom of Information request that the Scottish Government had already spent almost £160,000 on legal costs associated FWS's judicial review. Advertisement And former SNP MP Joanna Cherry wrote on X, said the order: 'underlines the clarity of the Supreme Court's judgment and provides a timely reminder for the foolhardy that generally expenses follow success'.
LeMonde
24-05-2025
- Politics
- LeMonde
'What is a woman?': Court ruling reopens the 'gender war' in the UK
The sun was shining and the smiles were wide. On April 16, in front of the UK Supreme Court – a neo-Gothic architectural gem across from the Palace of Westminster – Susan Smith and Marion Calder, two founders of the group For Women Scotland, celebrated their victory. Surrounded by photographers, they toasted and then sang their rallying song, "For Women's Rights," to the tune of the famous Scottish melody "Auld Lang Syne." After five years of legal battles with the Scottish government, the country's highest court ruled in favor of these so-called "gender critical" feminist activists, who believe gender is not a perception but a biological reality, by offering a definitive answer to a seemingly basic question: "What is a woman?" The Equality Act 2010, the country's main anti-discrimination law, had not, until now, defined the term "woman." In its April 16 decision, which carries the force of law, the Supreme Court restricted the definition to "biological sex." The court rejected the previously prevailing interpretation that transgender women with a gender recognition certificate – which legally acknowledges their change of gender – are also considered women and therefore entitled to access women-only spaces such as toilets, locker rooms or prisons. "This is a victory for common sense," declared the founders of For Women Scotland after the hearing, surrounded by banners in purple and green – the colors of the suffragettes, those early 20 th -century campaigners for women's right to vote, whose memory remains cherished in the country.
Scotsman
22-05-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
Supreme Court gender: Government told to 'stop dragging its feet' on self-ID and single-sex spaces
Scottish ministers have been told to implement the interim guidance from the EHRC urgently. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Scottish Government is being accused of 'dragging its heels' on gender self-ID and its guidance on single-sex spaces. Ministers have been warned they are opening the Government up to 'legal, financial and reputational damage' by not implementing the interim guidance on single-sex spaces issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This comes a month after the UK Supreme Court ruled the legal definition of the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex, and the Scottish Government's guidance that trans women could be classed as women for some pieces of legislation was 'incorrect'. Susan Smith and Marion Calder, right, co-directors of For Women Scotland with campaigners celebrate outside the Supreme Court in London after terms "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act were ruled to refer to a biological woman and biological sex. Picture: Lucy North/PA Wire | Lucy North/Press Association Following the verdict, the EHRC has issued interim guidance that says trans women 'should not be permitted to use women's facilities' such as toilets and changing rooms. Conservative MSP Pam Gosal raised this with Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville and said the Government must urgently implement this guidance. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said: 'The Scottish Parliament announced it will be implementing this guidance, but bodies are still waiting for clarity, including the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, the nursing union with nurse Sandie Peggie calling for the Royal College of Nursing to take a stand, and prisons needing clarity on the handling of trans prisoners. 'Can the Cabinet secretary and the Government stop dragging their heels?' Teachers 'crying out' for single-sex space guidance Alba MSP Ash Regan added: 'Teachers are crying out for lawful guidance to repair a decade of lobby-led ideology, councils are losing court cases, female prisoners are being denied justice and their human rights, and NHS Fife policy is now exposed as clearly unlawful. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'How much legal, financial and reputational damage will Scotland stomach before the government stops dragging its feet?' The minister's response Ms Somerville said a consultation on the EHRC guidance was ongoing and the Scottish Government would be waiting for the finalised guidance before changing its position to ensure 'consistency in this complex area of the law'. She said the EHRC had not objected to this approach from the Scottish Government, and this was in line with the stance taken by the UK government.
South Wales Guardian
19-05-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
Survey suggests most people think Supreme Court gender ruling was right
Polling for the Sex Matters charity also suggested that almost three quarters of those asked felt the right decision had been made by some sporting bodies in banning transgender women from its female competitions. The organisation commissioned YouGov to survey 2,106 adults online in Great Britain earlier this month, following the April ruling. The Supreme Court said the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex, following a challenge against the Scottish Government by campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS). Almost two thirds (63%) of those surveyed said they believed the Supreme Court had made the right decision, while just over half (52%) said the ruling has made the law around women's rights and how they apply to transgender people clear. While 13% said the ruling would have a positive impact on them and 6% said it would be negative, more than three quarters of people (77%) said the ruling would make no real difference to them. Following the ruling, English and Scottish governing bodies banned transgender women from the competitive female football game, while they were also banned from competitive women's and girl's cricket in England and Wales. The survey suggested 74% of those surveyed felt these were the right decisions, while 12% disagreed and 14% said they did not know. On the question of toilets, around a fifth of people felt transgender men and women should use whichever facilities they prefer, while around two fifths said unisex toilets should be used. Asked about which toilets transgender people should use, a fifth of those surveyed felt transgender women should use the men's toilets, while 14% said they should use the women's toilets. Some 17% said transgender men should use the men's toilets and the same proportion said they should use the women's toilets. In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said the 'logical consequence of the judgment' and new equalities watchdog guidance was that people will have to use toilets, changing rooms and other facilities of their biological sex. But he added that there would not be 'toilet police'. The equalities watchdog, Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), issued interim guidance, saying trans women 'should not be permitted to use the women's facilities' in workplaces or public-facing services like shops and hospitals, with the same applying for trans men using men's toilets. A more detailed code of practice is expected from the EHRC to be put forward for ministerial approval by June. Campaign group the Good Law Project (GLP) last week announced it has taken the first step of a legal challenge against the watchdog, claiming the guidance is 'wrong in law'. Some trans rights groups have raised concerns about the practical implications of the Supreme Court ruling. But Susan Smith, from FWS, said the Sex Matters survey results showed that 'the more governments push gender identity ideology, the more failings are revealed which strengthens public opposition'. She said: 'For all the noise created by activists in recent weeks, this polling indicates that most people believe that women's human rights matter and that the court acted correctly in determining that robust, clear definitions were critical to ensuring that lesbians, and gay men were not sacrificed or redefined in law. 'We are pleased that there is evidence of heightened awareness of the case in Scotland in particular, which bears out our belief that the more governments push gender identity ideology, the more failings are revealed which strengthens public opposition.' Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters said the fact a majority in the survey said they believe the ruling had made the law around women's rights and how they apply to transgender people clear means 'there is no justification for leaders to kick the can down the road by claiming 'confusion' and the need to wait for further guidance before the law can be implemented'. :: Figures in the survey were weighted to be representative of GB adults.
Rhyl Journal
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
Survey suggests most people think Supreme Court gender ruling was right
Polling for the Sex Matters charity also suggested that almost three quarters of those asked felt the right decision had been made by some sporting bodies in banning transgender women from its female competitions. The organisation commissioned YouGov to survey 2,106 adults online in Great Britain earlier this month, following the April ruling. The Supreme Court said the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex, following a challenge against the Scottish Government by campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS). Almost two thirds (63%) of those surveyed said they believed the Supreme Court had made the right decision, while just over half (52%) said the ruling has made the law around women's rights and how they apply to transgender people clear. While 13% said the ruling would have a positive impact on them and 6% said it would be negative, more than three quarters of people (77%) said the ruling would make no real difference to them. Following the ruling, English and Scottish governing bodies banned transgender women from the competitive female football game, while they were also banned from competitive women's and girl's cricket in England and Wales. The survey suggested 74% of those surveyed felt these were the right decisions, while 12% disagreed and 14% said they did not know. On the question of toilets, around a fifth of people felt transgender men and women should use whichever facilities they prefer, while around two fifths said unisex toilets should be used. Asked about which toilets transgender people should use, a fifth of those surveyed felt transgender women should use the men's toilets, while 14% said they should use the women's toilets. Some 17% said transgender men should use the men's toilets and the same proportion said they should use the women's toilets. In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said the 'logical consequence of the judgment' and new equalities watchdog guidance was that people will have to use toilets, changing rooms and other facilities of their biological sex. But he added that there would not be 'toilet police'. The equalities watchdog, Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), issued interim guidance, saying trans women 'should not be permitted to use the women's facilities' in workplaces or public-facing services like shops and hospitals, with the same applying for trans men using men's toilets. A more detailed code of practice is expected from the EHRC to be put forward for ministerial approval by June. Campaign group the Good Law Project (GLP) last week announced it has taken the first step of a legal challenge against the watchdog, claiming the guidance is 'wrong in law'. Some trans rights groups have raised concerns about the practical implications of the Supreme Court ruling. But Susan Smith, from FWS, said the Sex Matters survey results showed that 'the more governments push gender identity ideology, the more failings are revealed which strengthens public opposition'. She said: 'For all the noise created by activists in recent weeks, this polling indicates that most people believe that women's human rights matter and that the court acted correctly in determining that robust, clear definitions were critical to ensuring that lesbians, and gay men were not sacrificed or redefined in law. 'We are pleased that there is evidence of heightened awareness of the case in Scotland in particular, which bears out our belief that the more governments push gender identity ideology, the more failings are revealed which strengthens public opposition.' Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters said the fact a majority in the survey said they believe the ruling had made the law around women's rights and how they apply to transgender people clear means 'there is no justification for leaders to kick the can down the road by claiming 'confusion' and the need to wait for further guidance before the law can be implemented'. :: Figures in the survey were weighted to be representative of GB adults.
