Australia – In a historic ruling that tested the interpretation and scope of the Sex Discrimination Act, a judge determined that a transgender woman who sued a women-only social media app on grounds of alleged gender discrimination had been subjected to indirect discrimination. The judge awarded the transgender lady $10,000 plus costs.
The social networking platform Giggle for Girls and its CEO, Sall Grover, were sued by Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman from remote New South Wales, who claimed she was illegally prevented from using the app in 2021 after Grover and the company claimed she was a man.
Tickle downloaded the “Giggle for Girls” app in 2021 which was advertised as a safe haven for women online, where they could share their stories without fear of repercussions from men.
She had to upload a selfie to establish her gender, which was determined by gender recognition software meant to filter out guys, in order to get access.
She was able to successfully join the site, but her membership was cancelled seven months later.
Tickle asserted that she was discriminated against because of her gender identity and that, as a woman, she had a legal right to utilize services intended for women.
But throughout the trial, Giggle’s legal team argued that sex is a biological notion.
They readily admit that Tickle experienced discrimination, but it was based on sex rather than gender identity. They claim that denying Tickle access to the software constituted lawful sex discrimination. Because the creator of the app believes that Tickle is a man, she claims that blocking her access to the app was legal given that the app is meant to be exclusive to men.
Grover asserted that Tickle “is a biological male,” and that she would not address Tickle as “Ms.” Grover identifies as a “trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” or “TERF,” as she puts it. It is believed that TERFs’ opinions on gender identity are hostile to transgender persons.
She wrote on X, “A man claiming to be a woman is bringing me to federal court because he wants to use a woman-only space I created. Tickle’s gender identity is a work of legal fiction. Despite the change on his birth certificate from male to female, he is and always will be a biological man.
However, Justice Robert Bromwich rejected Giggle’s reasoning, concluding in his decision on Friday that sex is “changeable and not necessarily binary,” citing consistent case law.
Tickle expressed her hope that the case will result in “healing for trans and gender diverse people” and added that the decision “shows that all women are protected from discrimination”.
“I brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave and you can stand up for yourself. I can now get on with the rest of my life and have a coffee down the road with my friends, play hockey with my team and put this horribleness behind me,” Tickle said.
Although Tickle was born a man, she transformed her gender and has been a woman since 2017. “Up until this instance, everybody has treated me as a woman,” she testified in court.
Following amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act in 2013, discrimination against an individual based on their intersex status, gender identity, or sexual orientation is prohibited under federal law.
It touches on the core of how gender identity and being a woman are understood, and it is the first time that allegations of gender identity discrimination have been addressed by Australia’s federal court. The result is being closely followed globally and could have significant effects on both male and female spaces and activities.
