Australia urged to protect women-only spaces after ‘insane’ court judgment

Australian legislators have been urged to uphold biological reality after an appeal to allow a female-only app to reject a male user was dismissed.

The Court ruled that Sall Grover, founder of the Giggle app, had “directly discriminated” against Roxanne Tickle, a man who identifies as a woman, as Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) protects ‘gender identity’.

Last year in the UK, following a successful appeal by For Women Scotland (FWS) against a Scottish Government decision to allow men who identify as women to take women-only company board positions, the Supreme Court ruled that the terms ‘woman’, ‘man’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex.

Women’s rights

Grover, who was supported by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, said: “I am absolutely devastated. Men who claim to be women have more rights than actual women in Australia.”

But she noted that “in a sense, nothing has changed: we will all wake up tomorrow & men will still not be women”.

She called for legislators to ‘step in’ and fix the SDA, but said: “if I have to go to the High Court, I will”.

The ruling stated: “it is important to emphasise that the issues for determination by the Court involve the construction and application of provisions of the SDA. The desirability or otherwise of that law is not a matter open to this Court to consider.”

Protect women

Responding to the court’s decision, ADF Director of Advocacy Robert Clarke observed: “A law written to protect women has been used to punish a woman for creating a space for women. That is what today’s judgement means in practice”.

He added: “The addition of ‘gender identity’ to the Sex Discrimination Act has been used to undermine the most basic conception of what a woman is.

“The need for single-sex spaces is recognised in international human rights law. It must be recognised in Australian law too, and if the courts will not say so, then Parliament must.”

‘Insanity’

Australian politician Pauline Hanson commented: “I’m disgusted at the decision that’s just been handed down by the Federal Court in the Tickle vs Giggle case. It flies in the face of biological reality, and strips rights from women. Women’s spaces are not being protected and are no longer safe. I will back Sall Grover in Parliament.”

Stephanie Bastiaan, Head of Advocacy at the Women’s Forum Australia, called for the SDA to be fixed: “A biological male can walk into a women’s changeroom and the law is on HIS side. That’s not a hypothetical. That’s Australia in 2026. The Federal Court has handed activists a weapon – and women and girls are paying the price.”

UK journalist Janet Murray commented: “Now Grover is off to the High Court. To defend herself against claims of ‘sex discrimination’ – against an individual who anyone can clearly see, on sight, is male. Insanity.”

She added: “this case is a reminder of why women (and men) must continue defending single-sex rights and spaces. Relentlessly.”