A transgender man says he has been left terrified to leave his home as he claims a recent Supreme Court judgement has "stripped away" his rights.
The Darlington man, 25, who did not wish to be named, has hit out at the "heartbreaking" ruling that on April 16 decided that a "woman" and "sex" in the 2010 Equality Act "refer to a biological woman and biological sex".
This means transgender women, even with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) will be excluded from single-sex spaces if "proportionate".
Reaction to the ruling has been mixed - with some calling it a "victory for women" and even a "a welcome step forward" by Prime Minister Keir Starmer - but trans activists came out in their thousands on April 19 in Central London to protest the move.
Here in the North East, the ruling is also having an affect on the trans community - as one trans man says the ruling is "not protecting anybody".
He said: "It’s terrifying. Both my partner and I are too scared to leave the house most days. The atmosphere is hostile, and it feels like things are getting worse, not better.
"I’ve written emails to everyone I can think of, just trying to say, “Please, this isn’t right.” But no one seems to be listening.
"The ruling was heartbreaking. It's stripped away basic human rights from a group that makes up less than 1% of the population.
"That ruling wasn't about balance or fairness—it was about exclusion."
They added: "I don’t feel like this is protecting anyone. There’s still nothing stopping a cisgender man who wants to hurt women from walking into a women’s bathroom and doing just that. He can just say he’s a trans man and walk in. That hasn’t been prevented.
"Meanwhile, under this ruling, a trans woman with a Gender Recognition Certificate who has had full surgery—who has a vagina—could be searched by a male police officer. That opens the door to state-sanctioned sexual assault.
"That’s not safety. That’s cruelty under the guise of policy.
"And even beyond trans people, what’s stopping a male police officer from saying to a cisgender woman, “I think you’re a trans man,” and subjecting her to a strip search?
"Strip searches involve inspecting—and even touching—someone’s genitals. That means a cisgender woman could legally be violated and no one would be held accountable.
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"That isn’t safety for anyone."
They added: "It’s just a really sad time. It feels like things are falling apart. I don’t want to believe this is the end, but it’s hard not to feel like it is.
"We’re supposed to be a modern, compassionate country. I want to believe we still are. I want to believe people still care enough not to let others suffer like this."
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