My dad was beaten up for being trans. Trust me when I say the Supreme Court ruling will hurt people

Since the UK Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex, news sites and social media streams have been filled with photographs of people screeching with delight, arms flung in the air or clutching at their slogan-adorned t-shirts which had various thinly-veiled anti-trans scrawls across them – including the classic “Woman = Adult Human Female”.

The next morning, almost every single newspaper front page had some iteration of “transwomen not women” written across it in big bold letters.

The ruling, and perhaps even the headlines, may seem innocuous to some who either have not followed the meteoric rise in transphobia over the past few years or who have not got anyone in their lives that this will impact. But it is far from innocuous. It is a very real danger to an already extremely vulnerable and highly targeted minority.

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Around 20 years ago, I was about 12, I went for a run with my dad and at the end of the run we sat down and had a serious talk. She told me she was trans and was going to live as a woman from now on. She then asked how I felt about that.

We can’t always be sure we remember these moments entirely true to how they were, but I vividly recall thinking: “Well yeah, that actually makes more sense to me.” It ended up being a really lovely conversation that gave me a much better understanding of who my dad was and brought me much closer to her. On a practical level it was also great for me, as it meant I now had two parents I could steal clothes off.

It was clear what being able to live authentically meant to dad. She was a much happier, lighter person after this. But it has not been an easy road. Since then, she can barely walk down the street, sit in a café or go shopping without some incident.

Whether it’s someone behind a counter aggressively shouting “how can I help you SIR”, or people nudging each other, laughing and pointing, or often worse – not a day goes by that dad doesn’t experience a torrent of almost debilitating transphobia.

These experiences have only ramped up. The rise of the so-called “gender critical” movement has meant trans people have been catapulted into the limelight. Where once people may have felt some awareness that they should hide their bigotry, this toxic hate-fuelled movement has allowed people to feel emboldened to openly share their abusive views. All apparently in the name of women’s rights.

For dad, every day is a battle, that has been made even worse by this confected idea that there is any form of conflict between trans peoples’ existence and women’s rights. She just wants to exist as her, and then there is a group of people who don’t want her to exist, that is the real truth of the conflict.

When I was little and saw dad having to go through daily abuse, I remember feeling so much anger that people could be so hateful but took comfort in the fact that society grows and progresses. One day being trans would be, at least in the most part, accepted. I had no idea as a society we would instead regress.

In fact, in 2023, for the very first time, dad was assaulted for being trans. A group of people kicked, beat, spat at her and threatened to stab her in broad daylight on a busy street, as people simply walked past and did nothing.

So, this week’s ruling may seem innocuous to you, but it is far from it. This ruling, and in fact the irresponsible reporting of it since, will result in trans people being beaten up, bullied, shamed publicly and far worse. Not to mention the mental health impact it will have.

This morning, I listened to the Today programme’s coverage of the Supreme Court ruling. They brought in the chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Baroness Kishwer Falkner. A person who quite openly holds anti-trans views. She kept spitting out the word “clarity” when asked what the ruling meant for people and organisations. An attempt to sanitise and justify what is nothing else than a huge attack on the human rights of a small portion of society.

The idea that legal definition of a woman being based on biological sex is simply there to provide clarity is completely false. It is there only to bolster those that would completely eradicate trans people. This is all about the social exclusion of trans people, it is not about bolstering anyone’s rights.

This may not seem clear to some now, but maybe it will sink in once we start getting the first reports of cis women being asked or forced to pull down their pants to prove their gender before entering the public toilet. The decision made yesterday is not just a huge blow to trans rights, but it is a devastating regression in women’s rights too.

So, before you celebrate or feel positive about this ruling, just know it will make one of the most vulnerable sections of society even more vulnerable. It will also lead to more attacks on trans people, including those that are mistaken for being trans, and it will inevitably lead to more deaths in the trans community.

Despite all of this, I still have the hope that one day this will all be a distant and memory and that finally trans people, like my dad, will be able to go to a café or their local shop without having to brace for abuse each time.

For now, I hope people understand that it is more important than ever to be a trans ally. Don’t look away if you see someone intimidating, bullying or abusing a trans person, we can’t afford to be silent on the issue any longer – fence sitting is complicity. Trans women are women.

If you need support or advice following the ruling there are many organisations currently offering support including: transactual.org.uk and mermaidsuk.org.uk.

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