On April 16, 2025, the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the word “woman” in equality legislation refers only to the biological female sex, not gender identity. The case was brought to the court by “For Women Scotland”, a self-proclaimed feminist organization that advocates for the exclusion of transgender women from women’s rights and protections under the law. As a result of the ruling, the right for transgender women to have access to bathrooms and schools that align with their gender identity is no longer protected. The ruling sets a dangerous precedent and marks a new low for transgender rights in the UK.
With the growth in popularity of the UK’s Conservative party, the ruling hardly comes as a surprise. “This decision is going to expose a lot of trans women to not just discrimination in their workplaces and in education, but will also encourage more stigma and backlash against their right to equal access to those spaces,” Katie Hultquist, the director of leadership and giving at Outright International, a global human rights organization, said. This “backlash” further divides cisgender and transgender women, increasing tensions between the transgender community and anti-transgender advocates.
However, this ruling is only a small part of the global rise in anti-transgender policies. The US has been far from immune to the epidemic of anti-transgender politics. Within the first three months of his presidency, Donald Trump issued multiple executive orders aiming to limit transgender people’s access to sports, medical care, the ability to legally identify as their preferred gender, and serve in the military. In Hungary, the parliament passed a constitutional amendment that enforced the government’s ban on Pride events. Victor Orbán, Hungarian prime minister, said Hungary was not strong enough to “face” LGBTQ rights activists before, but “the world has changed and different winds are blowing in Washington.”
Throughout history, transgender people have gradually gained more rights, but progress is not linear. In 2025 alone, 859 anti-transgender bills have been introduced throughout the US, and over 40% of European countries still require sterilization before citizens can legally change their gender. Simply being transgender is criminalized in 37 countries. As anti-transgender advocates gain more traction, life for transgender women in the UK is projected to get much worse.
