Court Rules in Favor of Trans Woman Banned from Female-Only App

Roxanne Tickle (left) at the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney, Australia on April 9, 2024. AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi

Harry Potter author JK Rowling posted a simple message of support amid one of Australia’s most prominent women’s rights cases.

“Solidarity, sisters,” the author wrote on X as the Federal Court case, Tickle v Giggle, unfurled.

Rowling backed Giggle for Girls app founder Sall Grover after legal action was brought against her for banning a male-to-female trans person from her female-only app.

The landmark gender-identity case would fall in favour of trans woman, Roxanne Tickle, on Aug. 23, finding it was unlawful to prevent her from accessing Giggle.

What the Judge Said

Justice Robert Bromwich said Tickle’s claim of direct gender discrimination failed, but that her claim of “indirect gender identity discrimination” succeeded.

“The indirect discrimination cases succeeded because Ms. Tickle was excluded from the use of the Giggle app because she did not look sufficiently female, according to the respondents,” Justice Bromwich said in handing down the verdict in Sydney.

Grover has been ordered to pay $10,000 in compensation and legal costs—a fraction of the $200,000 claimed by Tickle.

The judge also found that the meaning of “sex” could change.

“[The respondent’s] arguments failed because the view propounded by the respondents conflicted with a long history of cases decided by courts going back over 30 years. Those court cases established that on its ordinary meaning, sex is changeable.”

The judge said the concept of sex had broadened “especially by reason of the wide scope that now exists for legally changing the sex of a person on official birth records.”

However, the judge also said it was outside his purview to consider “the general nature of biological sex.”

“The science behind that evidence is not, as far as it goes, in dispute. It is just that the issues in this case involve wider issues than biology,” he wrote.

“Ms. Tickle is a legal female, as reflected in her updated birth certificate issued under Queensland law. The discrimination complained of by Ms Tickle is on the basis of gender identity and not sex.”

Progress of the Case

Tickle had been banned from the app in September 2021.

She holds a female birth certificate following surgery and hormonal treatment, and identifies as a woman with friends, family, and colleagues.

The court was told Grover created the Giggle app as a “safe space” for women without male participation.

Giggle’s barrister Bridie Nolan argued Ms. Tickle was a man so it was lawful to exclude her from the app because of provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act.

She told Justice Bromwich the court was faced with the impossible task of determining whether a person was a woman based on their “psychological state” and having undergone surgery to remove their reproductive organs.

“This case is the, ‘What is a woman case’,” Nolan said.

Tickle’s lawyer Georgina Costello said her client had received hate online as a result of Grover’s actions and told the court that “deliberate misgendering” of Tickle did not take away from the “fact she is a woman.”

Women’s Group Speaks Out

“‘Sex is changeable,’” were the first words Women’s Forum Australia CEO Rachael Wong wrote in the aftermath of the ruling.

“These were the judge’s words as he delivered his judgment finding Giggle guilty of indirect gender identity discrimination against Tickle, for refusing him admission to her female-only app.”

Wong said the case was a let-down for women across the nation.

“A disappointing but unsurprising outcome given the judge said at the outset he would be deciding the case based on what the law is, not what it should be—and unfortunately for women and girls in Australia, our law gives more rights to men who identify as women, than to actual women and girls,” she said.

“The fight continues until the sex-based rights of women and girls are restored in Australian law.”

Concern for Women’s-Only Activities and Spaces

Save Women’s Sports Australasia took to social media to voice their concern and questioned what the ruling meant for women’s only activities.

“A federal court judge stated that sex is now changeable and gender identity means biological sex,” they said.

The group expressed concern that the landmark case could mean women’s only spaces were no longer safe or exclusive for biological women.

“Including gender identity in legislation leaves women with no enforceable boundaries against any man,” they said.

The court’s decision can be appealed.