Cardiff protest rally over Supreme Court gender ruling

More than a thousand people have attended a protest against a legal ruling that biology defines whether or not a person is a woman.

Campaigners walked through Cardiff city centre as part of the trans liberation march.

Supreme Court judges ruled on Wednesday that “woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.

In their ruling, the judges stressed that the law still protects transgender people.

Protest organisers said the decision was a “backwards step” for equality.

“I joined the Trans Support March in Cardiff today to stand with our trans community across Wales and the UK, following the Supreme Court ruling,” said Matthew Lloyd.

“Trans rights are human rights and we must fight any attempt to roll them back. Equality, safety, and dignity for trans people are not optional, they are non-negotiable.”

In the ruling Judge Lord Hodge said gender reassignment was a “protected characteristic” and there was a legal bar against discrimination based on “acquired gender”.

The ruling found the biological interpretation of sex was also required for single-sex spaces, including changing rooms and hostels, to “function coherently”.

The judges noted “similar confusion and impracticability” had arisen in relation to single-sex associations and charities, women’s sport, public sector equality and the armed forces.

The judges added: “The practical problems that arise under a certificated sex approach are clear indicators that this interpretation is not correct.”