“Women” is legally defined as a biological woman, ruled the British Supreme Court – National
The UK Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a woman was born with a biological woman.
The results exclude trans people, not legal definitions, and after a long legal dispute between the Scottish Women (FWS) and the Scottish Government.
The ruling is based on the FWS's 2022 legal challenge of the definition of the term “women” by the Scottish Parliament in 2018, which includes people with protected characteristics of gender redistribution, people living in women, and people who claim experiences, who have experienced or are undergoing gender redistribution, says the gender signatories of the British.
The Scottish Civil Court held that the definition was illegal because it dealt with matters outside the legislative jurisdiction of the Scottish Parliament. It's updated in 2023.
However, the FWS moved a new definition because it pointed out that people with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) recognize that their gender is female and is considered female.
FWS appealed to the UK Supreme Court after the Scottish court circulated the dispute back and forth.
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On Wednesday, five judges ruled that the UK Equality Act meant that transgender women could be excluded from certain groups and single-sex spaces, including locker rooms, homeless shelters, swimming areas, and medical or counseling services, only for women.
However, the court reiterated that the ruling did not deprive trans people of their rights and that they are still legally discriminated against in the UK, but the ruling stipulates that certain protections are reserved for biological women rather than trans women.
The court said this unanimous decision should not be seen as a victory on one hand, but several women’s groups supporting the celebration of the appeal outside the court called it a significant victory in protecting women’s designated spaces.
“Everyone knows what gender is and you can't change it,” said Susan Smith, co-director of Scotland Women.
She continued: “It’s common sense, basic common sense, and we’ve been in a rabbit hole, and people are trying to deny science and deny reality, hoping that this will bring us back to reality now.”
The ruling held some clear global separatist discussions in the UK.
In the U.S., Republican states have banned gender care for minors for the past four years, prohibiting trans women and girls from being unable to align with gender, and limiting public bathrooms that trans people can use.
The campaigner for the Women of Scotland (FWS) outside London’s Supreme Court challenged whether the Scottish government could view trans women as women in the Equality Act 2010.
Lucie North/Getty Images
In Canada, transgender people are legally discriminated against based on gender identity and expression under the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Bill C-16 was passed in 2017 and adds gender identity and expression to the list of discrimination reasons for discrimination in Canada.
– Documents with the Associated Press
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