More protests against trans Supreme Court ruling to be held across UK this weekend

Protests will be held across the UK this weekend (26-27 April) following a controversial judgement by the UK’s Supreme Court that the legal definition of a woman in the country’s Equality Act 2010 does not include transgender women.

The ruling, on 16 April, excludes trans women from using single-sex female toilets, changing rooms, or competing in women’s sports.

Immediately after the verdict, British Transport Police announced that trans women held in custody by the force will be strip searched by male officers instead of female officers while the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has confirmed that he no longer believes trans women are women.

The Supreme Court decision has sparked outrage among trans activists and allies, with Stonewall CEO Simon Black saying that it was “incredibly worrying for the trans community”.

Thousands of people attended protests over Easter weekend in over 20 towns and cities including London, Brighton, Cardiff, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, for what was billed as an “emergency demonstration” in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Following the London protest, the Metropolitan Police said that it was examining footage from the event due to claims that some demonstrators held placards featuring death threats, but no arrests have been made yet.

A further 29 rallies are planned this weekend (April 26 to 27).

According to What The Trans, there will be protests in York, Coventry, Darlington, Portsmouth, Liverpool, Oxford, Southampton, Birmingham, Cheltenham, Cambridge, Derbyshire, Bristol, Aberystwyth, Ely, Newcastle, Inverness, Lincoln, Belfast, Kings Lynn, Sheffield, Bradford, Pembrokeshire and Chesterfield.

You can see a full list of protest times, meeting locations and other important information here.

Brendan Phillips, one of organisers of the Birmingham rally, said that the demonstration is aiming to show solidarity with those affected by the ruling.

He told The Independent that they are planning to present a “united front against hatred and discrimination”.

“We have seen this hate before and now we must stand united against it once again. We stand in a united front, united with a single, common goal; for the BIPOC (black, Indigenous and people of colour), Asian, white, brown, black, Irish traveller and Romani trans, non-binary and intersex voices that have been ignored for too long,” Phillips added.

Six further protests are planned for next month, including one in London on May 25.