A Year On From the Supreme Court Ruling, Protests Continue

One year after the UK Supreme Court issued its ruling on the meaning of "sex" and "woman" in the 2010 Equality Act, trans rights supporters took to the streets in York to mark the anniversary and call for change. Dozens gathered in St Helen's Square on 12 April 2025, representing trade unions, political parties, and families of transgender people.

What the ruling did and did not decide

The Supreme Court ruled last April that the terms "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. The judges were clear that this ruling did not remove transgender people's protections against direct discrimination. Despite that clarification, considerable uncertainty has followed in workplaces, public spaces, and organisations, with many trans people and those who support them reporting that the ruling has been used to justify exclusionary decisions that were not, in fact, required by the judgment itself.

Workplace confusion and the role of trade unions

Julie Forgan, from the York branch of the Unison union, described the practical difficulties that had emerged for some of the union's members in the year since the ruling. She noted that workers had faced anxiety about which toilet facilities they were permitted to use, and that union representatives had been called upon to intervene in disputes that, in her view, should never have arisen. Unison has a formal policy of support for trans rights, and Forgan framed the issue as one of workplace dignity and human rights rather than legal technicality.

Families speak out

Karen Cook, a mother from Lincolnshire whose son is transgender, attended the protest to express frustration at what she described as the growing marginalisation of trans people from ordinary social life. She had previously been involved with Girlguiding, and attended carrying a sign bearing the Girlguiding promise. Her presence reflected a broader concern among families of trans young people, particularly in light of Girlguiding's recent decision to require transgender girl members to leave the organisation by September 2025, a decision the organisation said followed legal advice and internal consultation in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.

A question of national leadership

Several speakers at the York protest called on national leaders to state clearly and publicly that the rights of transgender people would be respected, and to challenge incidents of discrimination and abuse where they occur. The argument put forward was that the legal ruling had created a vacuum that others had moved to fill in ways that went well beyond what the courts had actually decided, and that stronger political leadership was needed to prevent further harm to a small and already vulnerable group of people.

Dr Helen Webberley, Gender Specialist and Medical Educator.
helenwebberley.com