Helen Belcher said she felt “a mixture of fear and absolute exasperation” on Wednesday as the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex.
Belcher, who herself transitioned more than 20 years ago, is the chair of the TransActual rights group and local Liberal Democrat politician told AFP.
The consequences of the landmark ruling are only just becoming clear, it could have far-reaching implications.
Although the ruling stressed that the Equality Act also protected transgender people from discrimination, many trans people, remained concerned for their rights.
Sitting in her bright conservatory in southwest England, Belcher, 61, expressed similar concerns to AFP
Scotland's 2022 Census said 19,990 people reported being trans or having a trans history.
Trans people “generally don’t feel safe, and I don’t feel anywhere near as safe as I did even three or four years ago,“ she added.
Belcher was concern the ruling was part of a broader cultural shift in line with the United States, where transgender rights are being targeted under President Donald Trump.
“Trumpian” rhetoric in the UK and anti-trans stories in the British press were contributing to an increasingly hostile environment, said Belcher.
“It does feel rather like being a frog in boiling water... you’re kind of thinking, is it hot enough yet? Is it too uncomfortable yet?” she said.
3I fear for people's ability to earn money. I fear for our society and what it loses when trans people are under threat.”
Belcher warned there could be severe consequences.
“These rulings don’t stop trans people being trans. They just drive trans people underground, out of sight, and then places them in dangerous situations.”
“When the state turns around to me and says I’m a man, I find that intensely cruel,“ she said.
“To go through that sometimes painful process of getting to understand myself, having invasive medical questioning, some painful surgeries, to then be told ‘you’re still a man’ is deliberately and intentionally cruel,“ she said.
“I think we’re just getting further and further away from that point.”
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