Founder of ‘women-only’ app loses appeal after landmark trans discrimination ruling

A “women-only” social media app has lost an appeal to overturn a ruling that found it discriminatory against trans women.

In January 2022, Giggle for Girls, marketed as a female-only space that allows women to find roommates, engage in freelance work, find friendship groups and more, came under fire for excluding trans women with its use of artificial intelligence.

A court ruling in August 2024 found that Australian businesswoman and founder of Sall Grover and her app had unlawfully discriminated against trans woman Roxanne Tickle when her membership was withdrawn.

Grover, whose Wikipedia page describes her as a “self-identified trans-exclusionary radical feminist”, filed the notice of appeal the following October, challenging justice Robert Bromwich’s decision.

The court found that Tickle had been unlawfully indirectly discriminated against after she was barred from using the app in 2021 “because she did not look sufficiently female”.

Giggle’s barrister Bridie Nolan argued that Tickle was a man – despite the fact that her birth certificate lists her as female – and so it was lawful to exclude her from the app under the Sex Discrimination Act.

Tickle’s lawyer, Georgina Costello, stated that she was a woman, having undergone gender-affirming surgery and hormone treatment, and identifying as a woman with her friends and family and at work.

The case, dubbed Tickle v Giggle, marked the first time Australia’s Federal Court had weighed in on gender identity discrimination.

Tickle was awarded 10,000 AUD (£5,350) in damages and limited costs. She had sought damages and aggravated damages amounting to 200,000 AUD (£107,100), claiming that misgendering by Grover resulted in constant anxiety.

During the appeal on 15 May, Justice Melissa Perry upheld the previous ruling and told the court that both Giggle and Grover had excluded Tickle from the app on the basis of her gender-related appearance.

She told the court: “This amounted to direct discrimination by reference to a characteristic that pertains to people of Ms Tickle’s gender identity.”

The judges also ruled to reassess the damages originally awarded to Tickle and increased the amount to 20,000 AUD (£10,700).

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