To the Supreme Court, which has this morning backed the biological definition of a woman. Today a panel of judges unanimously ruled that the terms ‘women’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act refer to biological – and not legal – sex in the landmark case For Women Scotland brought against Scottish ministers. It’s a win for gender critical campaigners who have long argued to protect women’s rights – and a humiliation for John Swinney’s SNP government.
The ruling by justices at the UK’s top court today means that the protected characteristic of sex in the 2010 Equality Act is deemed to refer to biological sex – after longstanding disputes on the matter. The Scottish government had argued that the 2004 Gender Recognition Act meant that transgender people in possession of a gender recognition certification – which allows for the changing of one’s legal sex on official documents – were ‘entitled to the protections’ of their preferred sex under the Act. More than that, a number of SNP first ministers have supported controversial gender self-ID laws, with ex-Dear Leader Nicola Sturgeon attempting to push the legislation through Holyrood. Dear oh dear…
For three long years, women’s rights campaigners have flagged concerns to the courts about transwomen accessing single-sex spaces and affecting the representation of women on public boards. Today’s ruling will have significant implications for both the Equality Act and the SNP’s doomed gender reforms – with Supreme Court Judge Lord Hodge concluding that ‘the interpretation of women in the Scottish government guidance is incorrect’. That’s them told!
So, it’s officials: the SNP now knows what a woman is. And they know what defeat tastes like too.
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