The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in a landmark judgement ruled on Wednesday that the term “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 refers strictly to biological females , and not transgender women. The unanimous verdict by five judges is expected to have widespread implications for single-sex services such as domestic violence shelters, hospital wards, and sports facilities.“The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological women and biological sex,” said Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Justice Patrick Hodge. “We counsel against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another. It is not.”The ruling marks a significant setback for transgender rights campaigners and has reignited public debate over the legal interpretation of sex and gender. The UK government, meanwhile, welcomed the judgment, saying it “brings clarity and confidence” to service providers.Although centred on the legal recognition of women, the court’s interpretation of “sex” as “biological sex” also applies to transgender men—those who were born female but have transitioned—under the same legal framework.
