UK’s First Transgender Judge Takes Case to European Court of Human Rights
Britain’s first transgender judge, Victoria McCloud, is taking the UK to the European Court of Human Rights over the Supreme Court’s ruling on biological sex. The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act referred only to a biological woman and to biological sex, with subsequent guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) amounting to a blanket ban on trans people using toilets and other services of the gender they identify as.
According to The Guardian, McCloud, a retired judge, is applying to the European Court of Human Rights to bring action against the UK for infringement of her Article 6 rights. Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) guarantees the right to a fair trial in both criminal and civil matters. McCloud told The Guardian that the basis of her case is that the Supreme Court refused to hear her, or consider her evidence, on the impact of the judgment on trans people.
“The basis is that the Supreme Court refused to hear me, or my evidence, to provide them with information about the impact on those trans people affected by the judgment and failed to give any reasons,” McCloud said. “Those are two basic premises of normal justice. There were protest groups speaking on behalf of women in this court case, but ordinary women were not actually represented as a whole.” McCloud also noted that the disabled were not represented, and that the impacts of the judgment on disabled people have not been dealt with.
The Supreme Court judgment, and subsequent guidance from the EHRC, has sent shock waves through the UK’s transgender community and left many businesses and services unclear about what facilities they are expected to offer. In an “interim update” on how the ruling should be interpreted, the EHRC said that in workplaces and services open to the public, such as hospitals or cafes, “trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men’s facilities”.
The Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden said it was “a logical consequence” that transgender people would be banned from using the toilets of the gender they identify as. However, McCloud said that, rather than resulting in clarity, the judgment and subsequent government and commission statement had “brought chaos”. “There’s chaos because we’ve got the Supreme Court saying one thing, and we’ve got the government and the EHRC saying another, we’ve got planning rules that the last government set, whereby inclusive bathrooms are supposed to be discouraged,” she said.
The reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling has been widespread, with many politicians and organisations expressing concern. Carla Denyer MP, the Green party co-leader, asked how the government would respond “both to distress within the trans community and further confusion for employers, businesses and service providers who are trying to understand what the Supreme Court ruling means for them”. In a letter to the equalities minister Bridget Phillipson, Denyer asked whether trans and non-binary people had been consulted in the drafting of the EHRC’s latest update and warned of the “risks of encouraging vigilante policing of public facilities”.
The British Medical Association’s (BMA) resident doctors conference in London also condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling on gender as having “no basis in science or medicine”. Medics at the conference passed a motion stating that “attempting to impose a rigid binary has no basis in science or medicine”. While the motion was passed at the conference, it will not become BMA policy unless voted on at the union’s annual meeting later this year.
As reported by The Guardian, McCloud’s comments came as the implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling continued to unfold. The case highlights the ongoing debate over the rights of transgender people in the UK and the need for clarity on the issue. The European Court of Human Rights will now consider McCloud’s case, which could have significant implications for the UK’s transgender community.
The Supreme Court’s ruling has been widely criticised by LGBTQ+ organisations and advocates, who argue that it will lead to increased discrimination and marginalisation of transgender people. The case has also raised concerns about the role of the EHRC and its guidance on the Equality Act. As the case progresses, it is likely to be closely watched by human rights advocates and those concerned about the rights of transgender people in the UK.
The implications of the Supreme Court’s ruling are far-reaching, and the case has significant implications for the UK’s transgender community. As The Guardian reports, McCloud’s case will be closely watched by human rights advocates and those concerned about the rights of transgender people in the UK.
The case is a significant development in the ongoing debate over the rights of transgender people in the UK. As the European Court of Human Rights considers McCloud’s case, it is likely to have significant implications for the UK’s transgender community and the need for clarity on the issue.
Source: The Guardian – UK’s first trans judge Victoria McCloud appeals to European court over Supreme Court ruling
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