The High Court has delivered its judgment in a case brought by the Good Law Project against the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), concerning its interim guidance on single-sex spaces. The ruling presents a complex outcome, with the judge clarifying that service providers are not legally obliged to exclude transgender people from gendered facilities, but also creating potential new barriers for trans individuals in workplace settings.

In a significant point, the court stated it can be entirely lawful for a service provider, such as a restaurant or a shop, to allow a trans woman to use the women's toilets without being required to admit cisgender men. This aspect of the judgment challenges the premise of the EHRC's draft guidance, which will now have to be rewritten.

However, the ruling also indicated that for workplace toilets, the decision could lead to many transgender people being compelled to use separate, third facilities. The Good Law Project has criticised this element, arguing it unacceptably reduces trans people to a "third sex" and disregards the harm caused by their exclusion from spaces matching their gender identity.

While welcoming the need for the EHRC to revise its guidance, the campaign group stated that, overall, the judge ruled they had lost the case. They have confirmed their intention to appeal the decision, describing the fight for trans rights as a long and hard battle they are committed to continuing.

The organisation is now seeking public support to fund the appeal, noting that litigation is costly. They revealed the EHRC is claiming costs of nearly £300,000, on top of their own legal fees. In a statement, the Good Law Project's director, Jo Maugham, said, "They think a big bill is going to stop us, because we’re not backed by billionaires or the government. But they’re wrong. Trans rights are human rights – and we will defend them."

Acknowledging the distress the judgment may cause, the group affirmed its determination to continue the legal fight, stating, "We know and you know... that the law is not applied without fear or favour to all manner of people, both trans and cis. But that does not mean that the law cannot help at all."

You can help support The Good Law Project in their efforts here:

https://goodlawproject.org/crowdfunder/help-us-appeal-the-high-courts-judgment-on-trans-rights/