{"id":26230,"date":"2025-04-17T01:30:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T01:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/26230\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T01:30:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T01:30:17","slug":"supreme-court-gender-ruling-sees-northern-ireland-campaigners-voice-concern-and-delight-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/26230\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court gender ruling sees Northern Ireland campaigners voice concern and \u2018delight\u2019 \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

CAMPAIGNERS in Northern Ireland have reacted with both concern and delight after the UK\u2019s highest court ruled that the definition of a woman refers to biological sex.<\/a><\/p>\n

The impacted legislation, the Equality Act, does not extend to Northern Ireland but Stormont\u2019s Department of Finance has said it \u201cwill consider the implications of the ruling by the Supreme Court in terms of gender recognition\u201d.<\/p>\n

A Sinn F\u00e9in spokesperson also commented: \u201cIt is important that we have effective equality protections that work to protect everyone and we will carefully examine the detail of this ruling in that context.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding to the judgment, a spokesperson for the Rainbow Project in Northern Ireland said they were \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d about the potential impact towards the rights of trans people across the UK and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

\"Charity<\/a>\"Has<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Equality Act does not apply in Northern Ireland, and trans people benefit from certain additional protections in EU law through the Windsor Framework,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs such, it will take time to assess the impacts of the Supreme Court judgement in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to reiterate that this ruling does not remove all protections in the Equality Act from trans people.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Rainbow Project in Northern Ireland has said it is deeply concerned about the potential impacts of the court ruling on trans communities. <\/p>\n

\u201cLord Hodge stated that \u2018The Equality Act 2010 gives transgender people protection, not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment in substance in their acquired gender\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group said they would continue to fight for \u201cfull social and legal equality for all trans people in Northern Ireland,\u201d as well as to support \u201ctrans communities struggling with today\u2019s news and the wider hostile environment facing those communities\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"MarianneMarianne Stewart from the Women’s Rights Network in Northern Ireland said she was ‘delighted’ by the court ruling. <\/p>\n

Marianne Stewart is from the Women\u2019s Rights Network in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t be anything else but delighted, it\u2019s going to clarify the law and hopefully going to mean fewer cases in court to protect our rights,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

As well as the issue of protected spaces for women, she said other concerns included diversity in the workplace and in sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Scottish parliament had their way, we could have had 10 men on a board and half of them identifying as women,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would have been seen as 50\/50 which would have been wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn sports – regardless of the safety issue – women have fought long and hard to have their own sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important whether it\u2019s on a professional or amateur level, that a woman doesn\u2019t lose her place to a man or a boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMen and boys have their own sports category. If they\u2019re not good enough for that category, we are not a second place for them to step into.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the issue of protecting trans people from discrimination, she said: \u201cThat\u2019s the issue that everyone has. We can be kind to people, people need protected from bullying in the workplace or from losing their home because of how they identify or look.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose things are protected in law, so they haven\u2019t lost anything here. It\u2019s just women have retained the right to their single sex spaces, same sex care \u2013 so the police can\u2019t strip-search a women using a male officer who identifies as a woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are safety and dignity issues that have been clarified.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Full coverage, half price. For expert insights, analysis and commentary, subscribe to The Irish News today. Get full access for just \u00a37.49\/month. Offer ends 28th April.\n <\/p>\n


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