A landmark ruling by the UK Supreme Court has clarified that “woman” under the law refers exclusively to those born biologically female, a judgment that effectively excludes transgender women from the legal definition in certain contexts.

The unanimous decision ends a lengthy legal battle between feminist campaign group For Women Scotland and the Scottish government, and has been hailed by women's advocates as a crucial win for sex-based rights with implications for other countries like Australia.

"Everyone knows what sex is and you can't change it," said Susan Smith, co-director of For Women Scotland, outside court. "It's common sense, basic common sense and the fact that we have been down a rabbit hole where people have tried to deny science and to deny reality and hopefully this will now see us back to reality."

🚨MELBOURNE LEFTISTS LOSE IT

This is what happened when I joined anti-child mutilation activist @BillboardChris on the streets of Melbourne to ask the hard questions about 'gender-affirming' procedures on kids

Full story: https://t.co/ywkF3IiHjG pic.twitter.com/xbfqrm78Ds

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) May 30, 2024

The dispute centred on a 2018 Scottish law requiring public boards to be made up of at least 50 per cent women, with the government counting transgender women with gender recognition certificates toward that quota. The court rejected this approach.

Justice Patrick Hodge, delivering the court’s ruling, said the interpretation of sex as “certificated sex” would "cut across the definitions of 'man' and 'woman' ... and, thus, the protected characteristic of sex in an incoherent way." He warned it "would create heterogeneous groupings."

Hodge added that the judgment “does not remove protection from trans people”, who remain shielded under UK anti-discrimination law.

The campaign group Scottish Trans expressed dismay at the outcome, stating it was “shocked and disappointed”, and claimed it would weaken legal protections under the Gender Recognition Act.

🚨#BREAKING: UK Supreme Court rules trans women are not real women

Finally a win for common sense

pic.twitter.com/rr9j5wGHgh

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) April 16, 2025

Outside the court, women's rights supporters celebrated the judgment. “The court has given us the right answer: the protected characteristic of sex — male and female — refers to reality, not to paperwork,” said Maya Forstater from Sex Matters.

The UK government welcomed the decision, stating: “Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.”

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney said the government accepted the ruling and would “now engage on the implications,” adding, “Protecting the rights of all will underpin our actions.”

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