Leading UK universities are ignoring the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on the legal definition of a woman, leaving female students sharing toilets and changing rooms with biological males just weeks before the start of the academic year.
Whistleblowers at University College London have revealed the institution continues to allow trans women to use female facilities despite April’s unanimous Supreme Court ruling that “woman” and “man” refer to biological sex under the Equality Act 2010.
The universities of Edinburgh, Southampton, Bath and Nottingham are among those yet to publish revised policies following the ruling, meaning their female students could face sharing private spaces with biological males when term begins next month.
Female academics at UCL, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of being “vilified” by colleagues, told how the institution claims it is waiting for further clarity on the ruling’s practical implications before making changes.
“Bear in mind how many female students we have and will have from religious and cultural backgrounds,” one whistleblower said. “Their parents have no idea that their daughters could be forced to share toilets and changing rooms with men.”
Another added: “It undermines women’s dignity and privacy.”
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on 16 April that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer strictly to biological sex assigned at birth, explicitly excluding trans individuals from legal recognition of their gender identity in law.
Following the ruling, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued interim guidance stating that “trans women should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities” as this would mean they are no longer single-sex spaces.
However, UCL’s approach has reportedly been “hijacked” by its LGBTQ+ Equality Steering Group, which described the Supreme Court ruling as “regrettable” on an official university page.
“It’s quite mind-blowing. None of these statements say that this might be a massive relief for women,” another academic said. “They’re not acknowledging the impact on more than half of the UCL population. I feel unseen, unheard. They are delegating women’s rights.”
Current UCL guidance states: “On campus, trans students can use ‘men only’ or ‘women only’ changing rooms or toilets according to which one they feel most comfortable in, or that they feel is most appropriate for them.
The whistleblowers’ concerns come as the EHRC prepares to finalise controversial guidance that could see trans people banned from all single-sex public spaces. The regulator hopes to send finalised guidance to the government by the end of August, which could then be used to create statutory laws.
Under the interim EHRC guidance, issued in April and revised in June, trans women should not be permitted to use women’s facilities and trans men should not use men’s facilities in workplaces and public services where single-sex facilities are provided.
The guidance adds that in some circumstances, trans people may also be barred from using facilities matching their birth sex, effectively limiting them to unisex facilities only. Where possible, the EHRC recommends providing mixed-sex facilities in addition to single-sex ones.
Victoria McCloud, the UK’s first trans judge, characterised the ruling as occurring during “a scary time” for trans people. “If I was a trans person in the UK today, I would steer clear of using any loo in a public space unless it was a single-sex or combined-sex loo,” she said.
Several universities have indicated they are reviewing their policies but have made no immediate changes. The University of Edinburgh said its policy is “thoughtfully worded” and it will “continue to approach the Supreme Court judgement in a considered way, carefully and appropriately balancing everyone’s rights.”
Both UCL and Bath claimed they were committed to fostering an “inclusive” community but are waiting for updated guidance from the EHRC before making changes.
A UCL spokesperson said: “We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive community where staff and students can engage in open discussion in a climate of mutual respect and tolerance. We recognise that issues around sex and gender identity are deeply personal and often complex.”
The spokesperson added: “Following the recent Supreme Court ruling, we are reviewing our policies carefully and awaiting updated guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. A facilities audit is also underway to ensure our estate meets the needs of our community, and any guidance that may need to change is clearly marked ‘under review’.”
The University of York issued a statement acknowledging the ruling provides “legal clarity” but noting “what the ruling means for the daily functioning of organisations is not clear at this stage and we have much to still understand.
Trans rights groups have condemned the EHRC’s interim guidance as “segregation” and warned it could lead to discrimination. TransActual described it as “a bigoted attempt to segregate trans people in public spaces that is almost certainly unlawful.”
The Good Law Project has launched a High Court challenge against the EHRC’s guidance, with a two-day hearing scheduled for November. The group described the guidance as having “spread confusion and fear through the trans community since it was rushed out in April.”
As universities prepare for the new academic year, the clash between the Supreme Court ruling and existing inclusive policies has created uncertainty for institutions, staff and students alike. With formal EHRC guidance still pending and legal challenges ongoing, the debate over single-sex spaces in higher education looks set to intensify.
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Image Credit (Shortened)
Old College, University of Edinburgh – by Napper Collerton, licensed under CC BY‑SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
