Court judges trans woman's exclusion from app unlawful

The exclusion of a transgender woman from a female-only social media app was unlawful, according to an Australian court’s landmark ruling that is likely to have far wider ramifications in the space of trans rights.

- MAROOSHA MUZAFFAR

Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman from New South Wales, found that her account on the Giggle for Girls social media app was restricted after seven months even though she was initially accepted. Ms Tickle sued the platform and its CEO Sall Grover for discrimination.

Federal Court Justice Robert Bromwich stated yesterday that the respondents had defined “sex” as the unchangeable sex assigned at birth. Although Justice Bromwich found Ms Tickle wasn’t subjected to direct discrimination, he upheld the claim of indirect discrimination because the Giggle for Girls app required her to appear as a cisgender woman to use it.