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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Trans woman wins sex harassment payout after being “harassed for being female”.

37 replies

IwantToRetire · 13/10/2025 20:43

I found the article really badly written in the sense that it didn't just go through the judgement step by step.

The collections worker said the ruling is “a win for the transgender community” because it “proves that trans people can still win sex harassment claims in their real gender”.

Full article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/13/royal-mail-employment-tribunal-trans-woman/

Also at https://archive.is/jvPEt

OP posts:
IwantToRetire · 13/10/2025 21:11

I think what made me think is this new, is the reference to having to seek guidance because of Supreme Court ruling.

Although maybe it is about the Supreme Court ruling not stopping what has happened before and why there is a "still" in this quote:

“proves that trans people can still win sex harassment claims in their real gender”.

OP posts:
eatfigs · 13/10/2025 21:10

Sounds like a fair result and in accordance with the FWS judgment:

249. It is now well-established that direct discrimination because of a protected characteristic (section 13 of the EA 2010) encompasses not only cases where the complainant affected by discrimination has the protected characteristic in question, but also where the discriminator perceives that the complainant has the characteristic, or in some other way associates the complainant with the protected characteristic. [...]

250. Applied in the context of a discrimination claim made by a trans woman (a biological male with or without a GRC), the claimant can claim sex discrimination because she is perceived as a woman and can compare her treatment with that of a person not perceived to be a woman (whether that is a biological male or a trans man perceived to be male). There is no need for her to declare her true biological sex. There is nothing disadvantageous about this approach. Neither a biological woman nor a trans woman “bring a claim of direct sex discrimination as a woman” (as the EHRC suggests). That is not how the EA 2010 operates: a person brings a claim alleging sex discrimination because of a protected characteristic of sex.

251. Take, for example, a trans woman who applies for a job as a sales representative and the sales manager thinks that she is a biological woman because of her appearance and does not offer her the job even though she performed best at interview and gives the job instead to a biological man. She would have a claim for direct discrimination because of her perceived sex and her comparator would be someone who is not perceived to be a woman. The fact that she is not a biological woman should make no difference to her claim, which would be treated in the same way as a direct discrimination claim made by a biological woman based on the sex of the complainant herself.

SundayAfternoonTea · 13/10/2025 21:00

And as very clearly explained in the Supreme Court ruling, transgender individuals continue to be protected from sexual harassment of their perceived biological sex.

Bannedontherun · 13/10/2025 20:59

I mean agree with everyone above tsk

SundayAfternoonTea · 13/10/2025 20:59

Good. Noone should be bullied and harassed at work.

Bannedontherun · 13/10/2025 20:57

Agree withheld above nothing to see the court did not affirm this person as a biological female.

Also it sounds like they suffered unjustifiable cruelty and harassment.

spannasaurus · 13/10/2025 20:53

CautiousLurker01 · 13/10/2025 20:51

We cross posted @spannasaurus and you were much more succinct than I was 🤣

I'm only succinct because it takes me so long to write posts on my phone

CautiousLurker01 · 13/10/2025 20:51

We cross posted @spannasaurus and you were much more succinct than I was 🤣

parietal · 13/10/2025 20:51

It has always been possible to win a payout for being perceived as belonging to a protected group even if you don’t. So if a straight person was seen as gay and harassed for it, that person could win a tribunal. Not sure how this is different to that case.

spannasaurus · 13/10/2025 20:50

You've always been able to claim for sex discrimination on the basis of perceived sex as far as i know. It's the same as if someone discriminates because they think you're a lesbian - you wouldn't actually need to be a lesbian to be protected under the EA

CautiousLurker01 · 13/10/2025 20:50

So as I understand it, sex and racial harassment etc is predicated on the harasser’s perception of the victim. So, erm, it has little to do with a win for trans persons, per sé, because any gender non confirming male who is mistaken for a woman and harassed can claim, or a masc lesbian who is mistaken for a man and harassed accordingly.

The major point here is that this win shows that trans persons DO have the same human and legal rights as non trans persons and the rightful expectation of protection of those rights in law. So maybe they can stop hiding in their homes or whatever it is that TRAs are claiming they are doing because they are so unsafe?

Sorry if that sounds harsh. But, really?