Today the UK Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that the terms woman and sex in the Equalities Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex. 

The issue was whether trans women who have a gender recognition certificate, are women in the eyes of the law and therefore are entitled to women’s legal protections. 

For legal purposes under this ruling transwomen are not women. The terms women and sex in UK law must be interpreted as referring to biological sex.

“Today, lesbians who stand up for lesbians are called bigots, trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs), Nazis. What has caused this mass hatred of lesbians in a time when the rainbow flag can be seen in many places? Queer, trans, LGBTQ+ seem to have the ear of governments and corporations.”

Hilary Oxley, one of LAVA’s Human Rights Review Tribunal plaintiffs, delivered a speech at the German Embassy in Te Whanganui a Tara | Wellington on 1 November as part of a global protest against Sex Self ID, in solidarity with women in Germany.

Jan’s memoir rang bells for me in so many ways. We are almost the same age and like Jan I am a lesbian. Her descriptions of a 1960’s New Zealand childhood had such unexpected similarities to my own English version, but while my childhood was loud hers was almost silent. I have been on both sides of the mental health issue– my own struggles and in the role of attempting to care.

Read this excellent account by Garwhoungle at The Ministry Has Fallen on Substack, of the situation the LAVA lesbians found themselves in when their stall to display a lesbian herstory map at Pride was cancelled - because they exercised their freedom of political opinion, freedom of association and freedom of expression.