King’s College London releases how to access support following Supreme Court trans ruling

King’s College London has released a statement following the recent Supreme Court trans ruling to offer support to students.

The statement acknowledges some of the anxiety that LGBTQ+ students may be feeling following the ruling which concerned the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010.

A spokesperson for King’s College London said: “We want to assure you that King’s is and will always be a welcoming, inclusive and supportive place for everyone in our community.”

The legal definition of a woman, as decided by the Supreme Court, is based on biological sex. More specifically, the justices ruled that the definition of sex as used in the Equality Act 2010 is “binary” and decided by biology. Therefore, a person who was not born as a biological female cannot obtain the legal protections the Act affords to women even if they have changed their gender with a Gender Recognition Certificate.

As a consequence, the future is uncertain for individuals who do not identify with their biological sex. The ruling could mean that single-sex services and spaces could compromise a transgender person.

In the statement, King’s encourages students who may be affected by this ruling to utilise their support services.