Some activists received the decision, but transgender activists warned that it could lead to discrimination.
The highest court in the United Kingdom has ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” refer to a “biological woman and biological sex” under the laws of British equality, a historical decision received with right -handed right but welcome from brilliant from brights of Brights of Fratty.
The long -awaited decision on Wednesday focused on Wheter, a tran woman with a gender recognition certificate (GRC), a formal document that gives legal recognition of someone’s new genre, is protected from discrimination as a woman under the equality of Great Britain.
The decision confirms that single -sex services for women such as shelters, hospitals and sports rooms can exclude trans women, clarifying legal ambiguity. Transgender activists said the decision could lead to discrimination, especially on employment problems.
“The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms ‘women’ and ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Law refer to a biological woman and biological sex,” said the vice president of the Supreme Court Patrick Hodge.
“But we advise to read this judgment as a triumph for one or more groups in our society at the expense of another, it is not.”
Transgender rights have become a polarizing political problem in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. Some critics say that conservative law has armed identity policy to attack minority groups, while others argue that support for transgender people has violated the rights of biological women.
In the United States, legal challenges are being carried out after the president of the United States, Donald Trump, issued executive orders that include prohibiting the transgender people of the military service.
The Judgment in Great Britain followed the legal actions of a campaign group, for Women Scotland (FWS), against the guidance issued by the returned Scottish government that accompanied a 2018 law designed to increase the proportion of women in the public sector boards.
The guide said that a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate was legally a woman. FWS, who was backed by lesbian rights groups, lost his case in the Scottish courts, but the Supreme Court ruled in his favor.
“Today, the judges have said what we always believe is the case: that women are protected by their biological sex, that sex is real and that women can now feel safe that the services and spaces designated for women are for women,” said Susan Smith, co -director of FWS, to the chips of cheers outside the court.
‘Deeply Conern’
The Labor Government of Great Britain said that the decision of the Supreme Court would contribute clarity to hospitals, shelters and sports clubs.
“The single -sex spaces are protected in the law and will always be protected by this government,” said a government spokesman.
In an example of the potential impact of the ruling, a Scottish health organization that is being sued by a nurse who suspended on her response to a trans woman who used a female costume said she had noticed the trial.
“Now we will take the time to carefully consult the trial and its implications,” said a NHS Figfe spokesman.
The Supreme Court said that trans people, whether they are trans or men women, would not be disadvantaged by their decision, since the Equality Law provided them with protection against discrimination or harassment.
Trans rights activists said the ruling had worrying implications.
“Today is a challenging day, and we are deeply concerned about the broad propagation, harmful implications of today’s Supreme Court,” said a consortium of LGBT+organizations, including the outstanding Stonewall group, in a statement.
“We need to take the time to digest the complete implications of the decision and understand what this will be at the legal and practical levels … It is important to remember that the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Equality Law protects trans people again estimination.”
The trans and activist woman Ellie Gomersall said the ruling was “another attack on the rights of trans people to live our lives in peace.”
Legal experts said the ruling showed that equality legislation may need to be urgently updated to ensure that trans people were protected.