Updates
For a weekly email listing the previous week’s updates, join our mailing list.
To see updates organised by topic, go to Where sex matters. Click on a tag at the end of any update to see other updates and resources with the same tag.
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Why “sorry” is the hardest word
During the weeks since the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that “sex” in the Equality Act refers to biology, much...
20th May 2025
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Secretary of State writes to Sex Matters supporters about the data bill
On Friday (16th May) we received a letter from the Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, Secretary of State for...
19th May 2025
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What next for sport?
We are winning in sport. The most popular sports for female participation in the UK – swimming, athletics, tennis,...
16th May 2025
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Why are lawyers encouraging confusion about the law?
Following the For Women Scotland judgment there has been a flurry of interest by lawyers in providing complicated, confusing...
14th May 2025
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Government admits that passports are not reliable
Yesterday afternoon the House of Lords debated safeguards to ensure accurate sex data in digital identity services. These rely...
13th May 2025
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House of Lords to debate digital identity amendments again
The Data Bill is back in the House of Lords this afternoon for the ‘ping pong’ stage of counter-amendments...
12th May 2025
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Inaccurate sex data: excuses and bad arguments
On 7th May the House of Commons debated new clause 21, a proposed amendment to the Data Bill. It...
9th May 2025
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Workplace toilets: know your rights
We explain the legislation on workplace toilets, whose job it is to make sure that workplaces comply with the...
7th May 2025
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Exercising caution over Stonewall’s exorcism claims
Nearly one in three people in Britain who identify as LGBTQ+ say they’ve been exorcised, assaulted, prayed over, or...
6th May 2025
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URGENT ACTION: email your MP today on the Data Bill
The Supreme Court has confirmed that “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 means, and has always meant, “biological sex”....
5th May 2025
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The truth about toilets
Following the Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of the protected characteristic of sex, everyone wants to talk about...
24th April 2025
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Sex matters: putting the Supreme Court ruling into practice
The UK Supreme Court has clarified that “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 means biological sex. This ruling came...
21st April 2025
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What does the For Women Scotland judgment mean in practice?
The judgment handed down yesterday by the Supreme Court returns the Equality Act to clarity. Many organisations have fallen...
17th April 2025
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IT’S A WIN!
We are delighted that the Supreme Court has accepted the arguments of For Women Scotland and rejected the position...
16th April 2025
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Judicial review of police search policy is waiting for the Supreme Court judgment
Sex matters in many different laws and policies, not just in the Equality Act. The British Transport Police allows...
15th April 2025
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Will the Supreme Court protect women’s rights?
On Wednesday 16th April the UK Supreme Court will deliver judgment in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers...
14th April 2025
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We call on Peter Kyle to guard the information gateway
Peter Kyle, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, is steering the Data Bill through Parliament. It...
11th April 2025
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For Women Scotland judgment to be handed down next week
The judgment in the matter of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers will be handed down in...
10th April 2025
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The Equality Act: 15 years old today!
On 8th April 2010, the Equality Act received royal assent. The landmark new law drew together legislation addressing race...
8th April 2025
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What does the Equality Act mean for women’s sports?
There are two ongoing cases in the same sport, pool. Women’s tournaments are run in the UK by Ultimate...
8th April 2025
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Why the government must act on the Sullivan Review and fix the sex data problem urgently
The long-awaited report of a review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender commissioned by the government...
19th March 2025
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Government removes safeguards from digital identity bill
The government is passing legislation to establish a “trustmark” for digital identity services, and to allow these services to...
11th March 2025
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Met Police tribunal anonymity bid rejected
An employment tribunal in South London has rejected the Metropolitan Police’s application to anonymise the identity of a witness...
11th March 2025
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The Data Bill must protect the integrity of sex data
On Tuesday the Data Bill continues its march through the House of Commons. It is an important piece of...
3rd March 2025
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Time for the Health and Safety Executive to step up
The Sandie Peggie case has shone a spotlight on workplace health and safety regulations that require employers to provide...
26th February 2025
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The Scottish government should take action to protect women at work
Sex Matters, along with Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, For Women Scotland and Fair Play For Women, today wrote to Neil...
18th February 2025
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Kristie Higgs wins belief-discrimination case
Court of Appeal warns against discrimination based on unreasonable objections to social-media posts
12th February 2025
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Reviewing the UK’s human rights framework
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) will be reviewing the UK’s approach to human rights...
11th February 2025
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Maya Forstater gives evidence in changing-room case
On 5th February, Sex Matters CEO Maya Forstater gave evidence in the ongoing employment tribunal case of Sandie Peggie...
7th February 2025
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Keep the safeguards in the Data Bill
The government’s Data (Use and Access) Bill has finished in the House of Lords and is now moving to...
7th February 2025
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Stonewall changes “transphobia” definition
Sometime in January Stonewall updated its list of LGBTQ terms, removing several terms that never caught on, including “gender-variant”,...
3rd February 2025
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Support for “gender-neutral” toilets falls
A new poll from YouGov reveals that support for mixed-sex toilets is at its lowest level in five years. ...
31st January 2025