Supreme Court trans ruling could mean UK ‘not meeting its human rights obligations’
The UK Supreme Court’s latest ruling could have far-reaching implications for trans people in the UK. (Getty)
The UK Supreme Court's latest ruling could have far-reaching implications for trans people in the UK. (Getty)
The UK “might not be meeting its human rights obligations”, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling on transgender rights, a lawyer has said.
The court ruled on Wednesday (16 April) that the legal definition of a woman under the Equality Act is based on ‘biology’ alone.
Reading out the ruling, judge Lord Patrick Hodge said: “The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another – it is not.”
He emphasised that trans people still have protection under the law.
‘I’m not particularly impressed by this ruling’
Discrimination and employment barrister Robin White, who is trans, told The Independent: “It’s certainly possibly that what the Supreme Court has shown us is that the UK is not meeting its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).”
The case of Goodwin vs. United Kingdom established in 2002 that the ECHR recognises the rights of trans people to their affirmed gender. A failure to do so was ruled to be a violation of Article Eight, which protects the right of transgender individuals to live authentically. Article 14 prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
While the Supreme Court ruling had caused “fear”, White pointed out that the Gender Recognition Act still allows for trans people to be accommodated in accordance with their affirmed gender.
“I’m not particularly impressed by this ruling because it hasn’t properly engaged with the difficulties it will cause. Perhaps that’s not surprising, given that only one intervener was supportive of trans rights,” she added.
Stonewall chief executive Simon Blake told PinkNews the ruling was “incredibly worrying for the trans community and all of us who support them”.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
