The UK Supreme Court have unanimously ruled that the legal definition of a woman does not include trans women with gender recognition certificates (GRCs).

The decision comes after activist group For Women Scotland (FWS), who received funding by author J.K. Rowling, contested the definition of "woman" in Scottish legislation requiring public boards to have 50% female representation.

The case focuses on whether sex-based protections in the 2010 Equality Act should apply to trans women with GRCs. The Scottish government supported this interpretation, while FWS opposed it.

Now, the UK Supreme Court have ruled in FWS' favour. "The terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex," said Lord Hodge, deputy president of the court.

This means a trans woman with a GRC can no longer occupy a public board seat designated for women.

Hodge also stated that the ruling should not be viewed as a victory for either side, arguing the Equality Act protects trans people from discrimination.

Reactions to the ruling have poured from Irish artists and organisations.

Irish pop star CMAT took to Instagram Stories:

"Imagine dedicating your life to being so wrong," she wrote. "Big fucking loser behaviour."

"If you think that the UK Supreme Court decision to define "woman" by binary biological sex isn't going to affect cis women you're fucking thick," she added.

"I have higher levels of testosterone than what is biologically considered female because of my PCOS, and only one ovary that still works. When the other one goes, am I not a woman?

"How will this affect families? How likely (is it) that this shit will snowball to a point where cis women looking for healthcare will be denied access because they fall outside of the medical binary?"

The Rainbow Project – a Belfast-based organisation that works to improve the health and wellbeing of LGBTQIA+ people in the North of Ireland – said in a statement that, while the "ruling is not good news," it is "unclear at this time what impact it will have in Northern Ireland."

"The Equality Act does not apply here, and trans people in Northern Ireland have additional protections under EU law through Article 2 of the Windsor Framework. As such, we’ll need to take time to better understand how this decision will affect our communities here."

TransActual UK – an organisation founded by a group trans people in 2017, in response to increasing press hostility, transphobia and misinformation – also posted on Instagram:

"We’re working to understand today’s ruling from the High Court in relation to the use of the word sex in the equality act," they wrote. "We’re working hard to understand the judgement and its implications for trans people’s rights and lives."

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by TransActual UK (@transactualuk)