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24-08-2024
CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: A transgender woman from Australia has won a discrimination case against a women-only social media app, after she was denied access on the basis of being male.
The Federal Court found that although Roxanne Tickle had not been directly discriminated against, she was a victim of indirect discrimination which refers to when a decision disadvantages a person with a particular attribute and ordered the app to pay her AU$10,000 ($6,700; £5,100) plus costs.
It’s a landmark ruling when it comes to gender identity, and at the very heart of the case was the ever more contentious question: what is a woman?
In 2021, Tickle downloaded “Giggle for Girls”, an app marketed as an online refuge where women could share their experiences in a safe space, and where men were not allowed.
In order to gain access, she had to upload a selfie to prove she was a woman, which was assessed by gender recognition software designed to screen out men.
However, seven months later after successfully joining the platform her membership was revoked.
As someone who identifies as a woman, Tickle claimed she was legally entitled to use services meant for women, and that she was discriminated against based on her gender identity.
She sued the social media platform, as well as its CEO Sall Grover, and sought damages amounting to AU$200,000, claiming that “persistent misgendering” by Grover had prompted “constant anxiety and occasional suicidal thoughts”.
“Grover’s public statements about me and this case have been distressing, demoralizing, embarrassing, draining and hurtful. This has led to individuals posting hateful comments towards me online and indirectly inciting others to do the same,” Tickle said in an affidavit.
Giggle’s legal team argued throughout the case that sex is a biological concept.
They freely concede that Tickle was discriminated against but on the grounds of sex, rather than gender identity. Refusing to allow Tickle to use the app constituted lawful sex discrimination, they say. The app is 
designed to exclude men, and because its founder perceives Tickle to be male, she argues that denying her access to the app was lawful but Justice Robert Bromwich said in his decision on Friday that case law has consistently found sex is “changeable and not necessarily binary”, ultimately dismissing Giggle’s argument.
“Unfortunately, we got the judgement we anticipated. The fight for women’s rights continues,” Grover said, responding to the decision.
Known as “Tickle vs Giggle”, the case is the first time alleged gender identity discrimination has been heard by the federal court in Australia.
It encapsulates how one of the most acrimonious ideological debates, trans inclusion versus sex-based rights can play out in court.
Tickle was born male, but changed her gender and has been living as a woman since 2017.
When giving evidence to the court, she said: “Up until this instance, everybody has treated me as a woman.”
“I do from time to time get frowns and stares and questioning looks which is quite disconcerting…but they’ll let me go about my business” but Grover believes no human being has or can change sex which is the pillar of gender-critical ideology.
Grover is a self-declared ‘TERF’ an acronym that stands for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist.” TERFs’ views on gender identity are widely considered to be hostile to trans people.
