A new orientation for public bodies in single -sex spaces will be issued, after the United Kingdom Supreme Court ruled unanimously, a woman is defined by biological sex under the equal law.
The Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says that it is “working in PACE” to provide an updated code of conduct for services, including NHS and prisons.
The ruling could have implications for spaces such as hospital rooms, changing rooms and national shelters.
The case was presented by activists of women’s rights that challenge the Scottish government, arguing that sex -based protections should be applied only to people born female.
On Wednesday, judges ruled that when the term “woman” is used in the Equality Law, it means a biological woman, and “sex” means biological sex.
This means that a gender recognition certificate (GRC) does not change the legal sex of a person for the purposes of the Equality Law.
The judges of the Supreme Court argued that this was the only consistent coherent interpretation.
Baroness Kishwer Falknerer, president of the Commission on Equality and Human Rights, said the organization was “pleased” the sentence addressed “difficulties” that stood out in its presentation to the court.
There is already a guide of the Equality Law that allows spaces only for women, such as bathrooms, changing rooms and hospitals in certain circumstances.
But under the new failure, a person born man but identifies how a woman has no right to use a space or service designated only as women.
That includes transgender women who have changed their gender and have a GRC.
The equality regulator says that his updated guide is in force for summer.
The new guide could also have an impact on women’s sport, where the question about whether transgender women can participate has been a high profile problem in recent years.
Sports have adjusted the rules around transgender athletes at the elite level. Athletics, cycling and aquatic have prohibited transgender women from participating in female events.
Other sports have implemented chosen criteria. Earlier this month, the English Football Association introduced stricter rules, but still allowed transgender women to continue competing in the female game as long as their testosterone remained below a certain level.
The MSP Green Scottish Maggie Chapman, an outstanding activist for trans rights, said: “This is a deeply worrying decision for human rights and a great blow to some of the most marginalized people in our society.”
Trans rights activists have said that they will closely examine the trial to decide on their next steps.
The United Kingdom government has welcomed the “clarity and confidence” for women and service providers brought by the sentence.
Health Minister Karin Smyth said the government will review the ruling to “make sure we comply” and work with equal agencies to ensure that organizations were full of compliance.
She said the government was not interested in “the so -called cultural wars” and believed that everyone should have “their dignity and privacy and their respected rights.”
“I think that now is the time to make sure to look to the future, that rights are very clear for people and that service providers make sure they comply with the law,” he said.
