Nicola Sturgeon: Supreme Court judgment on definition of woman 'massively overinterpreted'
Nicola Sturgeon has warned that politicians should update the law if the Supreme Court judgment harms the lives of transgender people.
Nicola Sturgeon has warned the Supreme Court judgment defining a woman in the Equality Act has been “massively overinterpreted" as she repeated her calls for Keir Starmer’s government to amend the law if the fallout impacts on the lives of trans people.
The former first minister has revealed that she has had more "misogynistic abuse" over the issue of gender recognition than any other during her career.
Unsurprisingly, Ms Sturgeon has reiterated that she will always be an "ally of the trans community".
Ms Sturgeon, speaking in events at the How the Light Gets In festival in Hay-on Wye in Powys, Wales, on Saturday, stressed that the Supreme Court judgment last month had said "what the law is, there is no gainsaying that".
The court ruled that the definition of a woman in the Equality Act refers to a biological woman. Trans women can legally become a woman through the Gender Recognition Act.
Echoing her comments given at Holyrood earlier this month, Ms Sturgeon stressed that it was up to politicians to "decide what the law should be or has to be".
Watchdog, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), has faced accusations of a kneejerk response to the ruling after issuing interim guidance which recommends transgender people should not be allowed to use toilets of the gender they live as, and that in some cases they also cannot use toilets of their birth sex.
Ms Sturgeon pointed to comments last week from Baroness Hale of Richmond, the first female president of the Supreme Court, who said that the judgment had been "misinterpreted".
Lady Hale said that there was "nothing in that judgment that says that you can't have gender-neutral loos".
Ms Sturgeon said: "That judgment, I think, has been massively overinterpreted in terms of some of the immediate reactions to it.
"But if it is the case that the judgment means we have to move to a situation where trans lives are almost impossible to live then I'm sorry but the law has to change because that is not an acceptable way to be."
Ms Sturgeon said that despite the abuse she had received over her support for the trans community, she would "always" be its ally "no matter how difficult that might be".
She added: "Many of those who are on the other side [of the issue] say it is all about protecting women," she told the festival.
"Isn't it ironic that I have probably had more misogynistic abuse as a result of this issue than on any other issue in my entire political career. Go figure."
According to The Sunday Times, Ms Sturgeon's comments have been criticised by Susan Smith of For Women Scotland, the organisation that won the Supreme Court appeal against the Scottish Government.
She said: "It would be quite ironic, although not unexpected, if the first female first minister was resolutely sticking to the notion that biological sex is some nebulous concept.
"There has indeed been a great deal of misrepresentation of the Supreme Court ruling but the most egregious has come from trans activists who have spun the most outrageous interpretations.
"Baroness Hale was correct in saying that the ruling does not outlaw gender-neutral toilets but any organisation which only provides such facilities should be mindful that this may result in discrimination against other protected characteristics, in addition to sex.
"For example, Muslim or orthodox Jewish women may be excluded. We are sure Lady Hale would be mindful of this possibility.”
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