A group of trans women staged a protest outside the Scottish parliament – on Saturday 17th May 2025 – to denounce the UK Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers (16th April 2025), and to confront the Scottish Government’s failure to respond with strength and solidarity.
With this demonstration they demanded that the Scottish government appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. They appeared topless with painted red right arms, a mark of solidarity with anti-fascist feminists across Europe. Similar protests have been made in many countries by women who’ve seen their rights eroded and their freedoms curtailed, by groups such as Femen in France.
Each protester also carried a white rose to mourn the death of transgender rights in the UK, and tape over our mouths for the censorship of trans voices in this ruling.
One protestor, Sugar, comments: ‘This ruling is not just a setback of humanitarian rights; it’s an act of erasure. It sends a truly saddening message that trans people’s fears, dignity and lives do not matter in the eyes of the Supreme Court. Trans voices were ignored in that decision. This kind of judicial disregard sets a dangerous precedent for the erosion of democracy and a descent into fascism.’ ‘We ask the Scottish Ministers: why have you rolled over? Why are you no longer standing up for one of the most socially marginalised communities in the developed world? This is still a Scottish issue. We urge you to use every available avenue to stand up and fight for your trans people.’
The group say: On 16th April 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled against the Scottish Ministers, without hearing any submissions from trans rights organisations and dismissing interventions by prominent trans judge Victoria McCloud and Prof Stephen Whittle. This ruling was fundamentally biased and leaves the door open for authoritarianism. ‘Today’s protest is a public act of grief, resistance, and solidarity to highlight the hypocrisy of the ruling. If the Supreme Court can see these woman, legally as men then they’ll have zero issue with them going taps aff’
Trans people will not be silenced or segregated, and we once again demand that the Scottish government acts to protect trans, non-binary and intersex people and reclaim its moral and political commitment to equality by appealing against the Supreme Court ruling to the European Court of Human Rights.
The following text was read by one protester outside the Scottish Parliament.
A Trans Person you love is under attack.
Our protest today condemns the Supreme Court ruling as a step
on the slippery slope towards fascism. This ruling, and the
subsequent EHRC guidance aims to segregate trans people from
safe spaces that they have for used for decades without issue.
We are demanding that the Scottish government stand up for its
trans citizens by fighting this ruling and appealing to the
European Court of Human Rights.
We Want to Be Seen, Heard, and Protected
Today’s action is a peaceful cry for fairness and dignity. We are
scared, we are angry and we are grieving. This ruling represents
the first nail in the coffin of not just trans rights, but the rights of
all LGBTQ people across the UK. The Supreme Court has
chosen to ignore the voices and rights of trans people. We need
our leaders to speak up, stand with us, and protect each of us
equally. Silence on this issue is capitulation to the bigotry and
fear that have already captured the EHRC and our government.
Stand WITH us. Fight FOR us.
All images supplied by Sugar
