UK court ruling leaves trans people in fear: campaigner

CORSHAM, United Kingdom: 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.

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.