Following the Supreme Court judgement in April, our community is facing an increasingly hostile environment and further challenges to accessing the support we need and deserve. The EHRC’s subsequent proposed guidance on the Supreme Court Ruling risks leaving LGBT+ victims and survivors with less access to support, and more vulnerable to abuse.

No one should have to live in fear or face abuse and violence for existing. Galop stands in solidarity with our community, and we will continue to fight to protect LGBT+ people from harm.

What happened?

Following the Supreme Court ruling (For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers) on 16 April 2025, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published interim, non-statutory advice on interpreting the judgement. On 20 May, they launched a consultation on its proposed amendments to the statutory Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations. The consultation ran for 6 weeks, closing on 30 June 2025.

What is Galop's position?

Galop has seen a significant increase in trans and gender diverse people coming to our frontline services for hate crime support this year. Victims and survivors of abuse are telling us they are fearful of leaving the house, of using public toilets, and feel less safe living as an LGBT+ person in the UK. We’ve seen instances where trans+ people are being challenged and verbally abused when attempting to access toilets in public spaces, such as pubs, and instances where people are experiencing online abuse and death threats. We continue to hear from cisgender lesbians who have been questioned about their gender in public toilets, something happening even before the ruling.  

Galop joined several LGBT+ and human rights organisations in raising serious concerns about the impact of the Supreme Court ruling, and the EHRC’s subsequent interpretation of the ruling through their proposed guidance.  

How did Galop respond to the consultation?

Our submission to the consultation focuses on Galop’s areas of expertise, namely the needs and experiences of LGBT+ victims and survivors of abuse and violence. You can read our full submission by downloading the PDF on this page.  

We are particularly concerned about these specific points:

• The draft guidance (13.3.19) could be interpreted as introducing potential risks for services that include trans women in their services. The guidance appears to be inconsistent with existing non-discrimination principles, including domestic and international human rights legislation.  

• Paragraph 13.3.20 could be read to suggest that offering a trans-inclusive, mixed-sex service - without an additional single-sex alternative - could engage risks of either direct or indirect discrimination. This seems to go beyond the requirements of the Supreme Court judgement, in our opinion. The guidance must provide further information on how services can continue to be trans-inclusive.

• Paragraph 13.5.6 raises questions about whether it may be lawful to exclude a trans person from both the space aligned with their ‘certificated sex’ and that aligned with their sex assigned at birth. This appears to create the possibility of individuals being denied access to both types of provision, which clearly should not be an acceptable outcome. 

• Paragraph 2.2.7 appears to allow for the disclosure of trans status or a Gender Recognition Certificate where there is a suspicion that someone may be trans. It is unclear how such a provision would not contradict privacy rights and data protection obligations. 

What’s next?

The EHRC needs to meaningfully engage with the responses to its consultation and propose an updated Code of Practice to the Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson MP. She will need to approve the proposed guidance, and lay this before Parliament, where MPs can challenge its contents.

The full impact of both the Supreme Court judgment and the forthcoming final EHRC Code of Practice has yet to be fully understood, and the lack of clarity for service providers supporting victims and survivors is particularly concerning.  

Galop will continue to work directly with LGBT+ victims and survivors and support other frontline service providers to monitor the impact of the ruling on our community.