The UK’s first transgender Judge is appealing the landmark Supreme Court ruling from this month at the European Court of Human Rights.
Five judges ruled unanimously on 16 April that biological sex is sex as defined by the Equality Act 2010. This decision sparked celebrations among women’s rights activists and dismay for trans rights advocates.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission published an update on the weekend regarding the practical implications for employers and public institutions of the ruling. A two-week consultation period for a revised code will begin in mid-May.
Victoria McCloud will sue the UK government in Strasbourg for allegedly violating her human rights. She claims that the Supreme Court’s ruling and the subsequent advice of the Equalities Regulator violated the fundamental rights she holds.
McCloud told BBC that the Supreme Court, far from clarifying law, had not taken into consideration how such a result would impact on the lives of transgender people.
McCloud said, “Trans people were excluded completely from this case.” “I asked to be heard. We both did. We were refused.
The court heard nothing on the issue of proportionality or the impact trans people have. The court didn’t hear our evidence. “I believe that the Supreme Court has not adequately considered human rights issues.”
The Supreme Court considered the arguments of Amnesty International, a human rights group that campaigns on trans issues in the case For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers.
Akua Reindorf KC, a commissioner for the EHRC, stated last week: “The Supreme Court doesn’t hear testimony about lived experiences; it looks at legal arguments.” The proposed intervener should be able to demonstrate that they are able to make a unique contribution to the legal arguments and help the court in matters that are beyond their own personal interests.
She also added that she did not hear from any trans advocacy groups.
Maya Forstater is the co-founder and CEO of Sex Matters. She told the BBC that McCloud might want to take on this challenge for personal reasons, but… the chances of success are more in the realms of fantasy than reality.
The Supreme Court just issued a unanimous and clear decision on how to interpret the Equality Act. One of the principles that guided this exercise of statutory interpretation was ensuring that the Equality Act is compatible with the Human Rights Act.
Kate Barker is the chief executive of the campaign group LGB Alliance. She said that the needs and wishes of the tiny number of transgender women, like Victoria McCloud, cannot override the rights and dignity of the 34 million women living in the UK, who deserve and need the privacy, dignity, and safety provided by single-sex areas.
Yesterday it was revealed that resident doctors, formerly junior physicians, condemned the Supreme Court ruling on sex. The British Medical Association resident doctors’ conference adopted a motion that stated “the attempt to impose a binary system is not supported by science or medicine”. The BMA could only adopt this policy after a vote at its annual meeting in June.
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