Sports bodies have ‘no excuses’ after Supreme Court trans ruling
A human rights charity has said sports bodies have “no excuses” over the continuation of transgender women in female sporting categories.
It comes after a landmark ruling in the UK’s Supreme Court in London, which found that a gender recognition certificate (GRC) does not change the legal sex of a person under the 2010 Equality Act.
This puts a number of sports in a predicament, with football an example of a discipline where trans women are able to compete against and with biological women.
In the ruling on Parliament Square, Supreme Court judge Lord Hodge said the 2010 Equality Act’s wording of “sex” and “woman” referred to “a biological woman” and “biological sex”.
Fiona McAnena, the director of campaigns at Sex Matters, told PA: “There are now no excuses for sports governing bodies that are still letting trans-identifying men into the women’s category.
“The judges mentioned fairness in sport. The law was always clear that everyone male can be excluded to provide fair, safe sport for women and girls, but some people claimed it was unkind or complicated to do so.
“It’s neither of those: it’s essential for fairness and safety for everyone female.”
‘Important for sport’
Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who has long campaigned against trans women competing in female sporting categories, said the judgment was “important for sport”.
“It’s felt horrendous to have major organisations working against women’s hard fought for rights,” she added.
But not everyone has agreed with the judgment, with some groups stating it has pushed equality backwards.
“Today and every day, I stand in unwavering solidarity with the trans community,” MP Nadia Whittome said.
There were 28 mentions of “sport” in the 88-page Supreme Court ruling. They included an interpretation of Section 195 of the Equality Act.
It reads: “We consider that this provision is, again, plainly predicated on biological sex, and may be unworkable if a certificated sex interpretation is required.”
UK governing bodies for sports such as cricket, rugby union, rugby league and athletics have made moves to ban trans women from competing with and against biological women.