For Women Scotland heading for Supreme Court

[Imnobody4]

You can read the reasons etc in For Women Scotlands crowdfunder. They are launching this review
UK Supreme Court: The Definition of Sex in the Equality Act

The Inner House of the Court of Session Judgment

We believe the Equality Act was drafted on the basis of the ordinary, common law understanding of the biological differences between the two sexes. The protected characteristic of “sex” in the Equality Act is defined as a reference to a man or a woman, where man means “a male of any age” and woman means “a female of any age”. We think it is quite clear that these are distinct and separate groups and that “woman” is not a mixed-sex category.

However, in our recent judicial review, For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers [2023] CSIH 37, the Inner House took the opposite view and decided there is a relationship between the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA) and Equality Act 2010 and held that the meaning of sex in the Equality Act incorporated the GRA framework.

The court decision stated that a person with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) in their acquired gender has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. Separately, they also possess the protected characteristic of sex according to the terms of their GRC and have a presumptive right to access the single-sex services of their acquired gender.

The Supreme Court will consider a request brought by For Women Scotland (FWS) who argue there are “strong grounds” for its challenge, which will almost certainly overturn contentious Scottish government legislation if successful.Campaigners for women’s “sex-based” rights reacted with delight to the news, including Magi Gibson, the poet, who posted on X/Twitter, that it was “game on” on in the “fight for the protection of women’s rights within the UK legal system”.Dennis Noel Kavanagh, a lawyer and the director of Gay Men’s Network, said: “Getting permission to go to the Supreme Court is really hard and very rare but FWS have it. The question ‘what is a woman’ in law will now be heard by our highest court. Massive news.”

www.thetimes.com/article/088ae0ce-fba9-4b97-8331-01a32195bef5?shareToken=3ada340957f5d2af2e20b01a7c15da3b

She's implying the GRA is there to protect the feelings and mental health of those with a GRC.

Lesley Irvine, also for ScotGov

It seems to be about feelings today. Yesterday was more about the practicalities.

Thanks, Arabella. 👍🏻

i think she's going for the human rights angle, an individual's right to self define

Do we know she is a woman?

'the right to personal development'

I think it’s the only angle they’ve got.

The equality act is not predicated on individuals, though..it is predicated on group identities.

It cannot be all about the feelz.....

And fuck anyone else's human rights.

personal autonomy, the right to establish identity

A lot of 'post operative' here

Be kind.

but not to women

I think that's based on legislation written at that time

The appeal to physical and moral security is an own goal too IMO. Women also have the same rights. These have to be properly balanced if the GRA and subsequent interpretation has trashed the rights of women and same-sex attracted people.

What about the ' great personal cost' to actual women...?

A lot of post-op references. And twenty first century blah blah.

'it was not legal recognition for practical purposes but for physical and moral security as a human being'

Dignity and the right to autonomy. So…..what women are asking for?

Asking for an entire sex.

translation: it's about what the man wants, not whatever effect that has on women

I'm just grateful Jane Russell isn't speaking this morning.

I'm not sure I could listen to hear her speak at length.

This submission is making me cross. There is no recognition that other people have rights too and in a functioning society you can’t just ignore everyone else.

Onerous conditions.......

Are we going to get to what living as a woman is? I hope I’m doing it right

'Shows the onerous conditions required to get a GRC so to bring about the significant and wide-ranging legal effect'