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Crowdfunder
Help protect trans people’s right to safety
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What if the ground shifted under your feet? What if a law you’d been relying on for 20 years was under threat and you had no say? What if a campaign was making the case for a change that increased the risk you’d suffer harassment, discrimination and maybe even violence – and you were shut out of the room?
We all deserve to live free from discrimination and harassment. That’s not just a matter of courtesy. It’s a set of protections enshrined in law. In 2004, the Gender Recognition Act was introduced as a safeguard for many trans people to be able to live freely, authentically and openly. It gave trans people the right to legally change their sex.
In 2010, the Equality Act codified and updated the UK’s existing equality law framework, maintaining the protections in equality law against harassment, discrimination and violence that already protected trans people as men and women.
The Equality Act, in combination with the Gender Recognition Act, means for example that trans women who have a Gender Recognition Certificate have protections under equality law if they are paid less than men because of their gender.
But the Supreme Court is now due to hear a case that threatens the freedoms and protections that trans people have relied on for 20 years. And this case could be heard with no trans people in the room – with no reference to the devastating effect it could have on their lives.
The campaign group For Women Scotland are not for trans women and they are not for the huge numbers of women who are trans allies. They‘ve been trying to get the courts to redefine the Equality Act 2010. So far their attempt to unwind the legal status of trans women has failed.
But they are trying again – this time in the highest court in the land.
Good Law Project wants to make sure the voices and experiences of trans people – and the trans inclusive majority of women – are heard at the Supreme Court. We will be supporting an application to intervene from the woman who was the UK’s first trans judge, Dr Victoria McCloud KC, and other representative groups.
It is beyond contemplation that these questions could be decided by the Supreme Court, and argued by those who want to strip trans people of their protections, without hearing from trans people themselves. Please help us fund this case, so that does not happen.
Nothing about us without us.
Details
Good Law Project is supporting Dr Victoria McCloud KC and others in this intervention. The solicitors are Good Law Practice and current counsel is Dan Squires KC (Matrix Chambers) and Jason Pobjoy (Blackstone Chambers). The legal team is acting at significantly below market rates.
Your donations will be used to fund our application and legal advice for an intervention at the Supreme Court so that trans voices are heard.
10% of the funds raised will be a contribution to the general running costs of Good Law Project. It is our policy only to raise sums that we reasonably anticipate could be spent on the work we are crowdfunding for. However, if there is a surplus it will go to develop and support further work we do to fight for a better fairer future for all.
Crowdfunder updates
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03/07/2024
We have a hearing date
The Supreme Court has set the dates for this hearing on 26-28 November.
We continue to work to ensure that trans voices are heard in the case. Thank you for all your support.
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19/09/2024
Application filed
We filed our application for intervention on behalf of Dr. Victoria McCloud and Prof. Stephen Whittle on 13/9/24. We expect to hear back from the courts with a permission decision soon, and certainly before 14/10/24 – our final deadline for submissions.
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08/10/2024
Intervention application denied
We are disappointed to share that Supreme Court has excluded Dr Victoria McCloud and Professor Stephen Whittle from making their intervention. It has not provided any explanation for this decision. Concerningly, it has also offered several groups who want to change the legislation permission to intervene, and just one group permission who wants to protect it: Amnesty International UK. We’re relieved that Amnesty will be able to set out why legal gender recognition is a human rights issue. But we think it was wrong of the Supreme Court to decide not to hear from any trans voices, even though they’re the only ones whose rights are on the line. We will keep supporters of this crowdfunder updated on the outcome.
This crowdfunder is now closed.
Thanks to the amazing support of Good Law Project supporters, we raised £31,874.11
If you’d like to support our general work, you can do so here: