The UK Supreme Court’s recent trans ruling has been condemned by the Human Rights Watch as “severely regressive”.

Last month, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the protected characteristic of “sex” under the terms of the 2010 Equality Act excluded trans women and referred only to “biological women”.

The ruling, which sparked protests across the country, has already seen the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issue interim guidance that trans women should be barred from using female toilets.

 Yasmine Ahmed, UK director at Human Rights Watch, has called the judgement “severely regressive”. 

Ahmed added: “While implementing this ruling, authorities across the UK should protect trans people’s rights by ensuring that services and facilities remain accessible, inclusive, and safe for everyone.” 

Trans folks still have protection against discrimination under the law, however, as noted by the Human Rights Watch, the ruling “failed to enumerate how that protection can be effectively implemented”. 

‘It is now up to Parliament’

The Human Rights Watch added: “The ruling also comes in the context of an often toxic debate about trans rights in the UK, in which trans people are portrayed as a threat to the safety of others and their views and lived experience are ignored.” 

Ahmed said: “It is now up to Parliament to amend the Equalities Act to make clear that sex-based protections apply to trans people with a gender recognition certificate. 

“The UK once was a global leader on LGBT rights, and that reputation is now blemished by a regressive court ruling and its implementation that assaults the dignity of trans and intersex people.”

The British Medical Association (BMA) resident doctors conference has condemned the ruling as “scientifically illiterate”. 

The case was brought forward on appeal by gender-critical group For Women Scotland (FWS) – which has reportedly been supported by author JK Rowling – against the Scottish government after judge Lady Haldane’s previous ruling in December 2022, which found that sex is not limited to biology.

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