An Australian court ruled on Friday that the removal of a transgender woman from the women-only social networking platform Giggle for Girls was discriminatory, a landmark decision on gender identity for the country.
Roxanne Tickle sued the Australian app and its founder Sally Grover in 2022 for unlawful discrimination based on gender identity in their services. She said Grover blocked Tickle’s account after seeing her photo and “mistaking her for male.”
The Federal Court, Australia’s second highest court, ordered Giggle for Girls to pay Tickle 10,000 Australian dollars (US$6,700) plus legal costs, but refused to require the company to issue a written apology, as Tickle had demanded.
“Tickle’s claim for direct discrimination based on gender identity fails, but her claim for indirect discrimination based on gender identity succeeds,” said Judge Robert Bromwich.
This case marks the first time a federal court has ruled on gender identity discrimination since the Sex Discrimination Act was amended in 2013.
“This decision is a huge victory for transgender women in Australia,” said Professor Paula Gerber of Monash University’s Faculty of Law.
“This case sends a clear message to all Australians that it is unlawful to treat transgender women differently from cisgender women. It is not lawful to make decisions about whether a person is a woman based on how feminine they look,” Gerber said.
Giggle for Girls was marketed as a “safe place” for women to discuss and share their experiences. According to court documents, the site had around 20,000 users in 2021. It ceased operations in 2022 but is expected to resume soon, according to Grover.
Bromwich said Giggle for Girls only considers gender at birth as a valid basis for a person to claim to be a man or a woman. Tickle was male at birth but underwent gender reassignment surgery and Tickle’s birth certificate has been updated, he said.
“Unfortunately, we got the verdict we expected. The fight for women’s rights continues,” Grover said in a post on X.
Tickle called the verdict “salvation” and said she had received hate comments online and had merchandise made specifically to mock her.
“Transgender and gender diverse people face so much hate and bile simply because we are who we are,” Australian media quoted her as saying outside the court.
