UK court ruling leaves trans people in fear, campaigner says

The UK top court's ruling on the definition of a woman this week has left thousands of trans people across the country fearful for their future, said one trans rights campaigner.

Helen Belcher said she felt "a mixture of fear and absolute exasperation" on Wednesday as the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.

"It leaves trans people and actually the UK in a very desperate place," she said.

Belcher, who herself transitioned more than 20 years ago, is the chair of the TransActual rights group and local Liberal Democrat politician told AFP.

The judgement has further fuelled the fierce battle over trans rights in Britain, and a pro-trans rally has been called for Saturday in London.

The consequences of the landmark ruling are only just becoming clear, it could have far-reaching implications.

Gender-critical campaigners -- who argue that gender is based solely on a person's biological sex -- celebrated what they saw as a victory for women's rights.

Although the ruling stressed that the Equality Act also protected transgender people from discrimination, many trans people, remained concerned for their rights.

'Death threats'

Sitting in her bright conservatory in southwest England, Belcher, 61, expressed similar concerns to AFP

She was concerned, she said, for the safety of the trans community, which according to the 2021 census figures, comprises around 96,000 people in England and Wales.

Scotland's 2022 Census said 19,990 people reported being trans or having a trans history.

"I'm much more in the public eye than most trans people, but I have had death threats," she said.

Trans people "generally don't feel safe, and I don't feel anywhere near as safe as I did even three or four years ago," she added.

She took little comfort from the Supreme Court's assurances over the protections afforded transgender people by the 2010 Equality Act.

Belcher was concern the ruling was part of a broader cultural shift in line with the United States, where transgender rights are being targeted under President Donald Trump.

Since retaking office, Trump has declared the US federal government will recognise only two sexes, sought to bar trans athletes from women's sports, and curbed treatments for trans children.

"Trumpian" rhetoric in the UK and anti-trans stories in the British press were contributing to an increasingly hostile environment, said Belcher.

'Intensely cruel'

"It does feel rather like being a frog in boiling water... you're kind of thinking, is it hot enough yet? Is it too uncomfortable yet?" she said.

"I fear for people's mental health. I fear for people's physical health," she told AFP.

I fear for people's ability to earn money. I fear for our society and what it loses when trans people are under threat."

One area the court ruling is likely to effect is Britain's public health service the NHS. It has already said it is "reviewing guidance on same sex accommodation" in light of the judgement.

Belcher warned there could be severe consequences.

"Part of the reason for giving trans people equality and giving trans people good health care on the NHS is to stop trans people seeking dangerous routes," she said.

"These rulings don't stop trans people being trans. They just drive trans people underground, out of sight, and then places them in dangerous situations."

More empathy was needed, and a better understanding of how trans people's lives were being affected, she argued.

"When the state turns around to me and says I'm a man, I find that intensely cruel," she said.

"I transitioned over 20 years ago," she explained.

"To go through that sometimes painful process of getting to understand myself, having invasive medical questioning, some painful surgeries, to then be told 'you're still a man' is deliberately and intentionally cruel," she said.

"I'd like to see trans people being centred again in the stories which affect us, for trans people to stop being treated as an issue and start being treated as people, with worries and desires and cares.

"I think we're just getting further and further away from that point."

AFP News