Hull Court Blockade Statement

Trans rights activists staged a protest at the Kingston-upon-Hull Combined Court yesterday morning, in response to the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman.

The 15 activists, aged between 16 and 51, unfurled a banner inside the lobby of the court at 10:30 this morning which read ‘your laws will kill us’, and declared their intention to remain for one hour. Security forcibly removed two of the activists before calling the police.

Outside the court, another group of trans rights protestors held signs and chanted in support.

In April this year the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of woman is determined by the sex marked on the original birth certificate. The ruling has sparked concerns about the implications for trans and nonbinary people, especially trans men and women who have already changed their legal gender under the Gender Recognition Act. 

A group of United Nations Special Rapporteurs and independent human rights experts warned that “the ruling has far-reaching social consequences and places two existing laws – the Equality Act and the Gender Recognition Act – in direct tension with one another”¹.

Rayan, 26, explained why they took part in the protest: “This ruling means that a woman - who may have lived most of her life as a woman, who is a daughter, a wife, a sister - must now use male bathrooms in public, and will be treated as a man by the police, hospitals and other institutions. It means that we’re going to be questioned and harassed to determine information on our birth certificates which, for me, is deeply private medical information, since I've been living openly as neither male nor female for a decade. 

I'm thankful I'm at a workplace that will continue to be trans-inclusive, regardless of any laws. But, although I’m scared to be joining this protest today, I'm more scared for my friends, and other trans people up and down the country who are at increased risk because of this ruling.”

Reports from the trans community suggest that online abuse has risen in the weeks following the ruling, leading to worsening mental health for many, whilst studies have already demonstrated that trans men, women and nonbinary people are more likely to have long term mental health conditions than cisgendered people². This is thought to be due to a combination of gender dysphoria - extreme distress or discomfort about their biological sex characteristics - as well as high levels of discrimination in society. 

Studies have shown that trans-women are four times as likely to be physically and sexually assaulted than non-trans women³. Trans people are a minority in the UK, with just 0.15% of people aged 16 to 24 identifying as trans women and 0.36% of people aged 35 to 44 who have a different gender identity from the sex registered at birth⁴.

A statement released by the protest group asks people to “please judge us on our behaviour and not on our appearance or our transness” and calls on local people in Hull and elsewhere to join in disobeying the ruling, saying “Westminster’s laws are only powerful if we put them into practice.”.

The youngest of the group, a 16-year-old who protested inside the court said, “I'm taking part in this action because I'm painfully aware of the danger this ruling puts my community in, especially my trans sisters. We must prove to those in power that we are not powerless, and we will fight to ensure that trans voices are heard and trans rights are respected. 

We deserve to be treated as the gender we identify as, and pushing us into incorrect spaces, or leaving us with no public spaces at all, will have detrimental effects on our mental wellbeing. We call on the government and the courts to end the increasing isolation of trans people.”

Daisy, 31, who took part in the demonstration outside the court entrance, said: “This ruling does not speak for ordinary women, most of whom agree that it’s ridiculous for a group of judges in Westminster - ten men and two women - to decide for the rest of us what a woman is. 

I can see that trans people are not a threat to anyone, but they are under threat from male violence and abuse, which is made worse by laws like these and by those who cynically fan the flames of the culture wars.”

Citations:
1. UN experts warn of legal uncertainty and rights implications following UK Supreme Court ruling
www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/05/un-experts-warn-legal-uncertainty-and-rights-implications-following-uk

2. Gender-related self-reported mental health inequalities in primary care in England: a cross-sectional analysis using the GP Patient Survey
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(23)00301-8/fulltext

3. Transgender people over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crime 
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release

4. Gender Identity: Office for National Statistics
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/genderidentity/articles/genderidentityageandsexenglandandwalescensus2021/2023-01-25/pdf