Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that within the context of interpreting the Equality Act 2010, the words “woman” and “sex” should be taken to mean only “biological woman” and “biological sex”.
Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary identities are real.
Though the judges also specified that the same levels of protection for trans people still remain, we have been shocked by the levels of hate and abuse directed at trans women in particular following the ruling and we know that many of you will currently be feeling afraid and even more vulnerable.
At SUSU we see you and we will always support all trans, non-binary and gender diverse students at the University of Southampton. While we wait for the EHRC to issue further guidance, we will continue to work closely with the University who have confirmed that there are no changes for now to any existing arrangements, and that all provisions in the Inclusion and Respectful Behaviour Policy remain unchanged. The University and SUSU remain absolutely committed to creating an inclusive University community that supports the safety and dignity of all students.
We will share more information when we have it but please always feel free to contact any of the Sabbatical Officer team with your questions or concerns and we will help if we can.
Support available to you
On campus:
- SUSU Advice Centre – 02380 592 085, www.susu.org/help-support/the-advice-centre/
- Student Hub – 02380 599 599, www.southampton.ac.uk/studentservices/index.page
- LGBTQ+ Pulse Network for staff and PGR students,
Beyond campus:
- Beyond Reflections – https://beyond-reflections.org.uk/
- Gendered Intelligence support line – 08006 408 046, supportline@genderedintelligence.co.uk
- Good Law Project also has a list of resources and organisations, https://goodlawproject.org/resources/