Sam Smith has issued a powerful message following the Supreme Court ruling the definition of a woman and sex in the Equality Act relates to “a biological woman and biological sex”. The controversial decision has been branded as “erasure” of transgender people by critics.
Five senior judges made the choice to define the terms “women” and “sex” as biological woman and biological sex. It has raised questions over access to single-sex spaces and protections based on sex, especially for trans rights.
Singer Sam, who identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them, has shared their own response to the ruling as they issued a strong message of solidarity. In a post on social media, Sam wrote: “Trans people exist.
“A world without trans people has never existed and never will. Trans rights are human rights. I am heartbroken for our community. But we cannot and will not be erased. We are real.”
Sam’s words were echoed by Celebrity Big Brother star Kellie Maloney, who said life will become “very dangerous” for trans people. “This ruling has put a lot of fear in a lot of people,” said Kellie.
The ruling follows a lengthy legal battle over the definition of a woman in Scottish legislation, brought by the campaign group, For Women Scotland (FWS) mandating 50% female representation on public boards.
Its impact is set to be felt across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish government had argued that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) are entitled to sex-based protections, while FWS argued they only apply to people that are born female.
The case centred on whether or not somebody with a GRC recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the 2010 Equality Act.
UK Supreme Court judge Lord Hodge, who announced the decision, said it was not a victory for either side and stressed the law gives trans people protection against discrimination.
“The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex,” he said. “But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another.”
In response the Government said the ruling provided clarity in areas including hospitals, refuges, and sports club. The ruling raises the likelihood of further legislation around access to areas including changing rooms. But judges stressed that they were not tearing up discrimination protections for transgender people.
A Government spokesman said: “We have always supported the protection of single sex spaces based on biological sex. This ruling brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs. Single sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.”
Harry Potter author JK Rowling was among those praising the verdict and in recent years has been very vocal about trans people and their rights. She said on X: “It took three extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women with an army behind them to get this case heard by the Supreme Court and, in winning, they’ve protected the rights of women and girls across the UK. @ForWomenScot I’m so proud to know you.”
The writer added: “Trans people have lost zero rights today, although I don’t doubt some (not all) will be furious that the Supreme Court upheld women’s sex-based rights.”
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
