Our statement in defence of trans survivors - against the UK Supreme Court ruling on gender and single-sex spaces.

The ruling and our opposition to it

On 15th April 2025, the UK Supreme court ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law. As an organisation we stand against rulings that cause further discrimination for an already marginalised community and believe that this ruling particularly isolates trans survivors of sexual abuse from getting the recognition and support they deserve. We include trans-women in our definition of women, trans-men in our definition of men, and welcome them and non-binary/ gender queer people into using our resources and services which they feel most aligned with. We also recognise that we need to continue to make workshops and resources which focus on the intersections of trans people's experiences more specifically and that these should be co-created with trans people.

It goes without saying - as an intersectional platform, Secrets Worth Sharing will always stand with trans survivors of sexual abuse, especially as trans people have become some of the most forcibly marginalised members of our societies. This "debate" on gender and sex and the politicisation of trans people, specifically their bodies, has been inappropriately fuelled by propaganda and media and often causes a moral panic which equates trans people as being the 'villains' in childhood sexual abuse cases. Ultimately the conversation on trans inclusion is in the wrong place: instead of questioning whether someone's trans body should belong in a support space, let's first acknowledge that that person's body has been harmed, abused and victimised and that they need support.

The context

Many "gender critical" theorists (the preferred name of anti-trans groups or trans exclusionary radical feminists) have seen this ruling as a triumph for their fight for 'women only' spaces including spaces supporting mental health and wellbeing or survivors of sexual violence, arguing that trans women are "men" trying to infiltrate women only spaces with the intention of causing harm.

This follows a significant rise in transphobia in recent years, falsely over-linking trans people with childhood sexual abuse. Them magazine reported a 406% increase in tweets linking drag performers and trans people to terms like “groomer” and “pedophile” since 2022. Some 'gender critical' theorists argue that a trans survivor's experience of childhood sexual abuse 'causes' them to be trans, as they question their bodies in childhood and that being trans is therefore a trauma response and not a valid identity - there is no scientific evidence to support this. Scientific studies published in PubMed have recognised a higher rate of experiencing childhood sexual abuse among trans people, but state that more research needs to be done on the impacts on their mental health first and foremost.

Of course, this has major consequences for all trans and non-binary people, with the risk of them being excluded from men and women's support groups. With the ongoing decline in funding towards childhood sexual abuse survivor support services, there is a very real risk that organisations will focus on 'single sex' spaces at the expense of building tailored support for trans people.

Secrets Worth Sharing's Queer and Trans Inclusive Values

It is so painful that our sexual violence sector is steeped in such anti-transness especially when trans people are more likely to be survivors of sexual abuse than other genders.

While we recognise that some people may be triggered by characteristics that they perceive to be from the gender who harmed them, we don’t think it’s possible to get behind these rulings which are so steeped in hate for another community. For example, we understand that for some survivors, a low-pitched voice might be associated with masculinity and a gender which may have harmed them and that this can be difficult, however, we don't believe that these characteristics categorically define someone's gender and such generalisations can be more harmful. Ultimately, the most important thing is that we are all survivors, that in so many ways this trauma is a uniting experience and one which we are all deserving of support.

We are a trans and queer inclusive community and we encourage the following values:

Stop framing and centring childhood sexual abuse as a women’s issue or a gendered violence issue. It is a violence against children issue, and tying the crime to the theme of gender identity can imply that one fuels the other, or that abuse towards some sexual organs are 'more harmful/ worse' than others. This thinking also further alienates male survivors.
Be aware of any content which shows very explicit material, and then links it with an identity factor. Usually these are emotive tactics that rely on shock value to get people on side with harmful ideas.
Question laws which discriminate against the identity of one group for the protection of children.
All sexual abuse is abuse. Do not put different victims experiences’ against each other. We try to understand that their beliefs may stem from personal experiences. However, it does not make it okay to generalise these experiences against all groups.
When we see or hear of sexually abusive behaviour from someone, we do not generalise to say that their actions are a result of their identity group. This holds true for trans people as well as religious leaders, and people from minoritised cultures.

Moving forward with joy and authenticity.

We are tired and disgusted of how often the shock and stigma around childhood sexual abuse is weaponised to further marginalise people of colour and trans communities.

If we need one more emotion in this field, let it be joy and not fear, stigma or hate. In light of all of this news, maybe especially so, we still want to continue to use joy in our messaging to tackle the stigma around talking about childhood sexual abuse.

To further the spirit of collective action, we are committing to more resources and a podcast episode by and for trans supporters. We have been writing an article for Shado magazine (to be published soon) and re-distributing our payment from the article towards directly supporting trans-survivors.

As a young organisation, we understand that making this statement may alienate us from funders who may hold a gender critical lens. Unless we are able to use money to improve and tailor resources for trans, NB and queer survivors as part of our work, we will not take it. Our core values ensure that we continue to stand with and alongside all survivors of childhood sexual abuse, including our trans friends, family and community.