Judges have ripped up trans rights - I'm terrified (2025)

The Supreme Court has today ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to a biological woman and biological sex. It is a landmark moment in the contentious debate around gender and trans rights – and will have consequences across society and politics.

In the latest in ourPerspectivesseries,Sylvie Wilkinsonsets out the factson what happened at the court, while political columnistAnne McElvoy, and trans womanEllie Gomersall– a former president of NUS Scotland – share their views on what the implications will be.

The Gender Recognition Act was passed in 2004 following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that not allowing transgender people in the UK to change our legal gender was a breach of our human rights.

Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court rips up this act – and the human rights of my community along with it.

The understanding set 20 years ago – that by obtaining a gender recognition certificate (GRC), a person is considered in law to be their “acquired gender” for “all purposes” – can no longer be said to apply if there are situations and scenarios where a trans woman with a GRC is not considered to be a woman.

The precedent this sets worries me deeply.

What should be made clear, though, is that this ruling only affects transgender people who have a GRC – a document so difficult, dehumanising and convoluted to obtain, that for many of us it seems simply impossible.

The current process requires multiple psychiatric assessments for gender dysphoria. The NHS waiting lists for these assessments are so long that I’ve already been waiting for seven years with no end in sight, and many members of my community can expect to wait for decades thanks to the woeful state of trans healthcare across the UK.

The Scottish Government attempted to reform this process in 2022, with overwhelming support from MSPs – two thirds voted in favour of the legislation – but the bill was blocked by the then Tory government in Westminster.

The block has been kept in place by the Labour Party, despite the fact that Scottish Labour MSPs actively supported the legislation. This leaves trans people in Scotland in limbo, unable to obtain this document which would make our lives that little bit easier.

What this means is that for the vast majority of us who haven’t been able to get a GRC, this ruling won’t change anything in law. What concerns me, though, is the impact this will have on the already incredibly toxic “debate” on the rights and lives of me and my community.

Hate crimes against trans people have skyrocketed in recent years, and the constant stream of press and politicians demonising us for just going about our lives has made it feel increasingly scary to be a trans person in the UK.

It’s easy to forget that behind the headlines of rulings like this are real people who are impacted by them. As a trans woman, I just want to go about my life like anyone else. I wake up, brush my teeth and go to work each day, but my worry is that this ruling will empower individuals and organisations to discriminate against us, even where there is no legal basis to do so.

Ultimately, although it’s only a very small number of trans people with GRCs who may be directly affected by this ruling, the principle of it worries me greatly. The ability to live our lives in dignity and to be respected for who we are is no longer possible even if we can jump through all the hoops required to get a GRC. It means we can never be sure we won’t be discriminated against, never be sure we won’t be treated differently because of who we are.

The full effects of today’s judgment will become increasingly apparent over the coming days and weeks, but for now it couldn’t be more important for people across the UK to show their support and solidarity with the trans people in our lives.

Trans people have always existed, and even with these setbacks, we will continue to exist.

Ellie Gomersall is a former president of the National Union of Students Scotland