UN expert voices concern over slow implementation of sex-based protections in UK News
KyotoWatanabe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
UN expert voices concern over slow implementation of sex-based protections in UK

A UN expert expressed concern Thursday over what she called the failure of the UK government to enforce a critical ruling on sex-based protections.

Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem commented on the government’s delayed adoption of the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Ltd v. Scottish Ministers. The decision aimed to resolve issues stemming from legal confusion about “women’s rights to single-sex services, facilities, associations and sports.”

Alsalem argued that these rights “are central to safeguarding women’s safety, privacy and dignity, and to combating male violence against women and girls.”

The April 2025 decision analyzed the statutory interpretation of the term “sex” in the Equality Act 2010. The judgment concluded that the term, for purposes of the Act, is synonymous with “biological sex.” Alsalem welcomed the ruling in her report following her visit to the UK in 2024.

In her comments, she called on the government to provide clear guidance and enforcement measures to be applied across the country, particularly within government bodies and the public sector.

“Without implementation, a court judgment offers little protection in practice,” she said. “Women and girls are left exposed to continued rights violations.”

Despite the special rapporteur’s support, the Supreme Court decision has received backlash from legal practitioners. Some claim the decision risks pitting the rights of trans women and cis-gendered women against each other by separating the groups in their protections against discrimination. Additionally, experts have pointed to legislative tension created by the judgment, which may be inconsistent with interpretations of trans gender rights from the pre-existing Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Alsalem recognized the UK as a world leader in the protection of the rights of women and girls, while other experts have highlighted the country’s past violation of the European Convention of Human Rights for lacking legal recognition for trans individuals.

Despite slow implementation, the government has formally accepted the decision as law. Public bodies await government action to approve an updated Code of Practice on Services, Public Functions and Associations to reflect the court’s ruling.

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