Trans, cisgender, and intersex people are facing job loss, violence, and exclusion following Supreme Court ruling and EHRC guidance, report finds.
Following the controversial For Women Scotland vs The Scottish Ministers Supreme Court ruling in April 2025, new evidence from the TransActual report, Trans Segregation in Practice, has revealed that trans, cisgender, and intersex individuals are facing job loss, violence, exclusion, and harassment since the ruling.
The earlier Supreme Court ruling determined that, for the specific purposes of the Equality Act 2010, trans people should be treated according to their biological sex. Many organisations and businesses have, as a result of the sex ‘assigned at birth’ ruling, begun upending the lives of trans and intersex folk. They have done this by implementing sex-segregated facilities, denying bathroom access, and ordering cis people to exclude trans individuals, irrespective of their own moral beliefs. Such movements by companies and organisations across the UK have seen businesses work against their legal obligations, with potential breaches of anti-discrimination protections being reported in the testimonials received by TransActual.
TransActual, “a national, trans led organisation seeking to raise trans people’s voices and raise awareness of trans people’s lived experience”, has released the Trans Segregation in Practice report to cover the impacts of the enforcement of segregation policies by organisations and individuals that have been seen across the UK since the Supreme Court ruling.
Many testimonials spotlighted in the report indicated experiences of exclusion and bullying in the workplace, where individuals are being forced to choose between their own well-being and their livelihood as a result of “interim guidance” from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). At the point of writing, the guidance offered by the EHRC has no legal standing but has faced severe backlash for infringing on the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals. One autistic, white trans woman who faced issues at work told TransActual: “Work asked me to use the disabled toilet instead of the women’s toilet. I mostly work from home [but when I do go to the office] I feel ostracised at work.”
A number of reported experiences have highlighted problems with bathroom access and an increase in butch cis lesbians and intersex people experiencing harassment and exclusion because they “don’t look like a woman” and have been perceived as not belonging in the women’s bathroom as a result.
One able-bodied, cisgender, butch lesbian reported being told she was not allowed in the women’s bathroom because of her appearance, which was made up of a short haircut and masculine clothing. She added: “I feel invalid and embarrassed. I am painfully aware my experience was a glimpse of what the trans community is suffering every day. Going forward, I will be more hesitant and anxious about using public toilets, but I will continue to do so. It’s sad that at 47 I’m back to my life and appearance being a political statement in the UK.”
Other spotlighted reports pointed to the impacts on venues and workplaces that recognise the harms of trans segregation and disagree with the ruling but are enforcing the “guidance” from fear of the legal harms they may incur.
A number of reports have been made to TransActual of trans people experiencing serious threats of violence since the ruling, alongside being outed at work through the implementation of new sex-segregated facilities and being disadvantaged because the facilities they are told to use do not exist. The Trans Segregation in Practice report is to be followed by Community in Fear, a sister report outlining the emotional and mental health impacts of the Supreme Court ruling and subsequent EHRC guidance. TransActual urges individuals experiencing the real impacts of the anti-trans policies being created to report the instances to them.
