Banning a transgender woman from a women-only app is unlawful discrimination, a judge has ruled in a landmark case about gender identity.
The app Giggle for Girls and founder Sall Grover were ordered on Friday to pay $10,000 in damages and legal fees to a user who was kicked off the single-gender platform.
The ruling that Roxanne Tickle had suffered indirect discrimination marked the first time that the Federal Court had ruled on discrimination on the grounds of gender identity.
“The indirect discrimination cases were successful because Ms Tickle was excluded from using the Giggle app because the respondents said she did not look feminine enough,” Judge Robert Bromwich said.
In a finding that could also have implications for other women-only spaces, Judge Bromwich concluded that the Giggle app cannot discriminate on the basis of gender identity, even though it is considered a special measure to promote equality.
He distinguished between discrimination based on gender identity and on sex.
The damages amount is a fraction of the $200,000 Ms. Tickle had sought, half of which was based on aggravated damages.
The latter was based on an online campaign Grover reportedly waged against her, primarily on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Roxanne Tickle has won her case against discrimination based on gender identity
Sall Grover founded the Giggle for Girls app and is defending the claim
After the decision, Ms. Grover wrote on X: ‘Unfortunately, we got the verdict we expected. The fight for women’s rights continues.’
After her win, Ms Tickle said she was pleased with the outcome and hopes it will be “healing for trans and gender diverse people.”
“Most of the time I can just live my life and be who I am. But a small group of people have taken it upon themselves to declare that I am not who I know I am and have begun to make my life miserable,” Ms Tickle said in a statement.
‘This case and the unlawful and discriminatory exclusion of the Giggle app have stolen the last three years of my life. I have been the target of hateful online comments and demeaning merchandise designed to ridicule and mock me.
“This ruling shows that all women are protected from discrimination. I brought my case to show transgender people that you can be brave and stand up for yourself. I know that I can now move on with the rest of my life and have a cup of coffee with my friends, play hockey with my team and put this horror behind me.”
Ms Tickle was blocked from the Giggle app in September 2021 based on her gender, despite her birth certificate listing her as female, the court was told during a series of often heated hearings in April.
The court was told that Ms Grover developed the Giggle app as a “safe space” where women could communicate with each other, free from male patterns of online violence.
Giggle’s lawyer Bridie Nolan argued that Ms Tickle was a man and that it was therefore lawful to exclude her from the app due to provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act.
She told Judge Bromwich the court faced the impossible task of determining whether a person was a woman based on her “psychological state” and the fact that she had undergone surgery to remove her reproductive organs.
Pictured: The Giggle app
“This case is the ‘what is a woman’ case,” said Ms. Nolan.
The court was told that Ms Grover had repeatedly misdirected Ms Tickle in media interviews and in hundreds of messages about the case to her 93,000 online followers.
Ms Tickle’s lawyer Georgina Costello said her client had faced a “huge” amount of online hate as a result of Ms Grover’s actions.
“The fact that she deliberately and persistently misidentifies as a woman does not change the fact that she is a woman,” Costello argued.
Ms Costello told the court that Ms Tickle had undergone gender confirmation surgery and hormone treatment, identified as female to her family, friends and at work, and used changing rooms and women’s clothing stores.
“Until now, everyone has treated me as a woman,” Tickle said.
Ms. Grover is a self-proclaimed “TERF” – which stands for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist.” TERFs’ views on gender identity are considered hostile to transgender people.
The outcome has sparked debate online, with Ms Grover’s supporters fiercely criticising the decision.
“What a colossal disgrace and failure by the Australian courts and politicians,” said Kirralie Smith.
‘This pathetic and dangerous law is as bad as legal slavery and racism and must be abolished!
‘Restore women’s rights.’
Australian television presenter Lucy Zelic said: “This isn’t over yet #IStandwithSallGrover.”
“It’s downright frustrating, but this clearly demonstrates that including gender identity in legislation means that women no longer have any boundaries with men,” said Ro Edge, co-founder of Save Women’s Sports Australasia.
Protesters supporting transgender rights are seen outside the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney during a hearing in April
“We stand with you all,” Victoria MP Moira Deeming wrote on X, sharing a photo of herself with Ms Grover, the Liberal Party’s controversial 2022 candidate Katherine Deves and Women’s Forum CEO Rachel Wong.
Others applauded the ruling and felt it was the right outcome.
“A spectacular outcome in Tickle v Giggle, and now we can cite Tickle v Giggle as an important precedent in defending and protecting women’s rights against misogyny,” wrote one man on X.
“Yes, in case you don’t understand the law or how to read court decisions, Roxanne Tickle is a woman.”
Someone else wrote: ‘I hope Sall Grover has the decency to apologize to Roxanne Tickle.’
Jackie Turner of the Trans Justice Project said the decision was “an important step forward for the freedom and equality of all women”.
“Today’s decision is a major step forward for the freedom and equality of all women. It confirms that women who are transgender are indeed protected from discrimination under current laws, just like all other women.”
‘Roxy has shown incredible courage in standing up to a campaign of bullying and harassment to fight for the rights of the trans and gender diverse community. She should be incredibly proud of what she has achieved.’
Friday’s decision can be appealed.
