LONDON: Britain’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the legal definition of a “woman” is based on a person’s sex at birth, a landmark decision with far-reaching implications for the bitter debate over trans rights.

In a win for Scottish gender-critical campaigners who brought the case to the UK’s highest court, five London judges unanimously ruled that “the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman, and biological sex”.

However, the act also “gives transgender people protection” against discrimination in their acquired gender, Justice Patrick Hodge said in handing down the verdict. The UK government welcomed the ruling for bringing “clarity” to the debate.

It is the culmination of a years-long battle between the Scottish government and the campaign group For Women Scotland (FWS) — which launched an appeal to the Supreme Court after losing pleas in Scottish courts over an obscure legislation aimed at hiring more women in public-sector bodies.

Dozens of FWS and other gender-critical campaigners, who argue that biological sex cannot be changed, cheered the ruling, hugging and crying outside the court. “This has been a really, really long ride,” said Susan Smith, co-director of For Women Scotland, adding that the campaigners were “enormously grateful for this ruling”. “Today, the judges have said what we always believed to be the case: that women are protected by their biological sex,” she said. “Women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women”.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2025