Mick Hartley

This is disappointing. From the Times:

A charity cannot bring a High Court challenge to rules allowing trans people to use single-sex facilities in Hampstead Heath’s swimming ponds, a judge has ruled.

Sex Matters sought to take legal action against the City of London Corporation’s trans admission policy for the ladies’ pond, a natural outdoor pool in north London.

The charity argued that the local authority, which manages the women-only pond, was breaching equality laws by allowing trans women to use the pool in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court ruling.

It also claimed the local authority was directly discriminating against women by exposing them to the presence of biological men who identify as women in a state of full or partial nudity.

In a ruling throwing out the legal action on Thursday, Mrs Justice Lieven said the “appropriate forum” for the claim was the county court, rather than the High Court.

“In my view the more appropriate person to bring this claim is an individual who says that they have been discriminated against by decisions about access to the pond,” she said.

Maya Forstater for Sex Matters:

“The fight for women’s safety, privacy and dignity in single-sex spaces will continue. Just because this particular claim was ruled out on procedural grounds does not give any service provider the green light to allow trans-identifying males into female facilities. 

“The City’s policy and its unwillingness to defend the lawfulness of that policy in court simply pushes the risk of harassment and the cost and difficulty of taking legal cases onto individual women and members of staff. This is deeply unjust.”:

What is strange is the result of the City of London consultation, which they claim showed 86% of the 38,000 respondents backing trans-inclusive access to the ponds. Well, it’s Hampstead, so it’s possible, but…really? You’d be hard put to find a clearer case for women-only when you consider that there are three ponds – men’s, mixed, and women’s. Trans women can use the mixed. Why not? The fact that some insist on using the women’s suggest that they’re making a point: that they get a thrill from alarming the women, and are therefore perhaps more likely to be predatory. There have been reports of male genitals happily on display. Some are saying that the polls were advertised and swamped by activists….