Back in April 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled that, for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, the definition of ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ refers to biological sex. This legal clarification, though presented as a matter of statutory interpretation, has had far-reaching and deeply personal consequences for many trans individuals across the country.
Since the judgement, a growing number of trans people have reported facing discrimination when trying to access single-sex spaces, particularly toilets and changing rooms. It’s all too easy to discuss laws in the abstract, but it’s much harder to hear the stories of those now forced to navigate life with increased anxiety, fear and isolation.
Some of these individuals bravely shared their experiences with me, revealing the real-life impact of what others may see as legal technicalities. What emerges is a picture of exclusion, heartbreak and injustice. It is awful the fear these trans people live in.
Denied the right to pee in a decent toilet cubicle
Take the experience of Caitlyn (she/her), a trans woman from St Helens with additional learning difficulties. She recently found herself in a distressing and upsetting situation at her dance class, held at the Silhouette Dance Club.
Until recently, Caitlyn had been using a communal women’s toilet, the same one as the rest of the women in the class. However, the club owner and class tutor told her that she would no longer be allowed to do so. Instead, she was told she would need to use a separate women’s toilet in another part of the building – isolated from her peers and where she didn’t know the layout of the building.
This alternative toilet, however, was poorly maintained, with inadequate lighting that left Caitlyn using the facilities in near darkness. In her haste to relieve herself and follow instructions, she had no choice but to navigate an unsafe and degrading situation – all because she is trans.
Caitlyn’s friend, Mina (she/her), believes she was discriminated against not only on the basis of her identity as a trans person, but also as a person with learning difficulties.
Reaching out to the Dance Club is ignored
Mina has made multiple attempts to contact the club and its staff to ask for clarification and an explanation. She wanted to understand the club’s policy – if indeed there is one – and to raise her concerns directly. But despite repeated outreach, neither the club nor the tutor has responded.
The impact on Caitlyn has been profound. Mina recalls receiving a panicked phone call from her friend shortly after the incident. Caitlyn was confused and distressed. “She was worried not only about being excluded from expressing her basic needs,” Mina said, “but also upset and unsure what to do”. Caitlyn told her that “The toilet she was made to use also had unsuitable and dangerous lighting conditions,” and in her haste to pee she had to use it “in near darkness.” The result? Caitlyn now feels she can no longer attend her beloved classes due to this discrimination.
The situation is heartbreaking. Caitlyn had formed friendships in the class – connections that now feel lost. A once enjoyable, social lifeline, has been cruelly taken from her.
Mina has known Caitlyn a long time. She describes her friend as a wonderful and very kind and helpful soul. She has hobbies and interests just like everyone else. “She loves dancing and enjoys DC superheroes, Young Sheldon and Magic The Gathering.”
To raise awareness of the situation, she has talked about Caityn’s ordeal at a recent trans rights protest in Liverpool. After attending the event together, Mina believes it helped her and Caitlyn realise they are not alone in the struggle.
To achieve a resolution for her friend, Mina has reached out to the Good Law Project for legal advice. She expects that they will be “swamped by similar messages.”
This is happening to many people
Caitlyn is just one of many trans women who are now living with the fallout of the court ruling. Across the country, trans women who have used women’s toilets for years – often without issue – are suddenly being told they cannot do so anymore. Many venues still lack gender-neutral or unisex toilets, leaving trans people with no viable option. The guidance may suggest they should use the toilets matching their birth sex, but that raises its own problems – and does little to ensure their dignity or safety.
And what of trans men, should they be using womens’ toilets? Imagine the likely reactions that would cause – hostility, confusion, even fear – when a (bearded) man walks into a ladies’ loo. The guidance doesn’t address this complexity, nor does it offer a workable solution. So, do we need a third category of toilet in every building – a special ‘trans people’ toilet? Clubs, pubs, restaurants, theatres or museums, libraries, shops – where would it end?
Fear at work, fear in shops
Chloe (She/Her), another trans woman, has encountered similar discrimination in her professional life. She works in court custody and prison transport – already a high-pressure role – but now she finds herself banned from using women’s toilets across all the sites she works at.
Chloe says the situation has left her ‘scared of having an increased target’ on her back. Currently, only management, and a few people at her vehicle base, know she’s trans, so she is fearful that will change.
Despite the discrimination at work, Chloe continues to use female toilets outside of her job.
Retail settings have also become fraught. Jennifer (She/Her), another trans woman, was denied entry to the female changing room in a Primark store. “It made me feel belittled and unwelcome – I simply wanted to try on a dress, not be berated by some random bigot.”
Jennifer felt forced to abandon her clothes and leave the store as she was made to feel completely unwelcome. She continues to use female spaces and refuses to back down in the face of discrimination and hate, but the experience has left a lasting scar.
A guidance without practicality
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), released interim guidance back in April, after the Supreme Court judgement that said trans people should use the toilets that match their birth sex. This guidance is just that, guidance but not law. That means people can exercise discretion. This guidance, which has been viewed as poorly considered and rushed, has only served to create confusion.
The Good Law Project criticised the EHRC’s approach saying the guidance “has caused harm from the moment it was released.”
The real-world consequence of this vague and unworkable advice is that trans people are being put in increasingly dangerous and dehumanising situations. Being forced to choose between safety, dignity, and access to public spaces is not a choice anyone should have to make.
The human cost of legal language
What might at first glance appear to be a tidy legal ruling has created a mess on the ground – a mess that is being borne not by politicians or lawyers, but by ordinary people like Chloe, Caitlyn and Jennifer. People with jobs and hobbies, with passions and friends. People who simply want to be able to go dancing, try clothes on or do their jobs – without judgement, without fear, without having their very existence turned into a culture-war battleground.
In the name of legal precision, we have sacrificed compassion. For clarity we have created confusion, and for fairness we have created exclusion.
Trans people deserve better than this. They deserve safety, dignity and the freedom to be able to participate fully in public life. They deserve to be treated as human beings, not a legal abstract.
Primark and the Silhouette Dance Club were contacted for comment before publication, but have not yet responded.
