Source : Perth Now news
The High Court of Australia has ended the landmark sex discrimination case involving a trans woman and a women-only social media app, rejecting an appeal bid from the app and its founder.
Earlier this year, Giggle for Girls’ and its founder Sall Grover had been found by the lower courts Federal Court have discriminated against Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman, by excluding her from the women-only app in 2021.
“The full court has found that Giggle for Girls and Ms Grover both excluded Ms Tickle from the Giggle app and refused to readmit her on the basis of her gender-related appearance by reference to her selfie,” the Federal Court’s justices Melissa Perry said in May.
“This amounted to direct discrimination by reference to a characteristic that pertains to people of Ms Tickle’s gender identity, being a transgender woman.”
Following the verdict, Ms Grover indicated she would appeal to the High Court of Australia.
But the High Court on Thursday rejected Giggle for Girls’ bid for leave to appeal, and awarded costs to Roxanne Tickle.
The years-long legal saga began in 2021 when Ms Grover personally removed Ms Tickle’s profile from the app, after AI software designed to filter out males cleared her.
The courtroom arguments centred on section 7D(1) and (2) of the Sex Discrimination Act.
In August 2024, the Federal Court found Ms Grover discriminated against Ms Tickle by removing from the networking app, which was marketed as a “safe, online space exclusively for women”. That court decision came with an order for $10,000 in damages to be paid to Ms Tickle, which was later doubled.
Thursday’s High Court ruling says there was “no reason to doubt the Full Court’s construction (of the Act)”.
“Any appeal dependent on the demonstration of error in the Full Court’s construction of those provisions has insufficient prospects of success to warrant a grant of special leave to appeal.”
The landmark case was reported on globally, sparking impassioned arguments from proponents of cis women’s rights, and supporters of trans Australians.
Opposition spokesperson for women, Melissa McIntosh, called for a review of the Sex Discrimination Act.
“Our laws should be working for Australian women, not against them,” she said.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said she was “disgusted” by the May court decision, adding she “will back Sall Grover in parliament”.
The Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Anna Cody, supplied information to the court for the case.
“The Sex Discrimination Act is intended to ensure all people are treated equally and can participate fully in public life. These protections extend to all women, including transgender women,” Dr Cody said.
Equality Australia legal director, Heather Corkhill, said the Federal Court decision was affirmation of decades of progress.
“For decades, Australian laws have recognised that a person’s legal sex is not limited to the sex they were assigned at birth – any other interpretation would deny the reality and existence of trans people,” Ms Corkhill said.
The case was the first time the Federal Court heard a case concerning gender identity discrimination.
Underpinning the arguments for Giggle and Ms Grover, her lawyers argued sex is a biological concept, freely admitting Ms Tickle was discriminated against but on the basis of sex, not gender identity.
