Trans activists in Britain have vowed to defy new rules that will bar them from female-only spaces, with some warning they are ready to be arrested “multiple times” in protest. One campaigner described the fight as “a war” against trans people’s rights.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the UK’s official equality watchdog, is finalising guidance that will require government bodies, schools, hospitals, prisons, gyms and shops to exclude “transgender women”—biological men who think they are women—from female-only facilities and sports. Ignoring the rules will be treated as discrimination.
The guidance follows an April ruling by the UK Supreme Court, which interpreted the word “sex” in the Equality Act 2010—Britain’s main anti-discrimination law—to mean biological sex rather than self-declared gender identity. The final version is expected to be submitted within weeks to Bridget Phillipson, the British minister responsible for equality policy.
The Good Law Project, led by activist lawyer Jolyon Maugham, has launched a legal challenge, arguing that the move misinterprets the Equality Act and breaches privacy rights.
“The guidance amounts to a bathroom ban for trans people, violating people’s right to privacy in their everyday lives,” said Maugham.
EHRC officials say the final code will reflect both the Supreme Court ruling and public feedback—over 50,000 submissions to its consultation. Despite activist backlash, the Commission insists its role is to clarify existing law, not rewrite it.
