Talk at LGBA conference on the importance of lesbian space

Photo: Jo Brew

Sally spoke at the LGB Alliance conference on 18 April 2026 about the lesbian intervention - why she set it up, why it was essential to the outcome of the case, and what has happened since the Supreme Court ruling.

Here's the full text.

As Bev mentioned in her introduction, I have always believed women’s space and lesbian space is incredibly important. 

Not so long ago, we had that space - there was a vibrant lesbian culture, with pubs, discos, bookshops and even housing co-ops. The spread of transgenderism killed that. Our social and cultural events were invaded by men, shut down, or forced underground. Just speaking about being same-sex attracted was attacked for being transphobic.

On top of that, lesbians are - always have been - almost completely invisible in national and international law, policy, practice and data collection. And, I would argue, we were largely invisible to the women’s rights movement as well. 

I was told more than once that lesbians were affected by transgenderism in the same way as heterosexual women, other than that we were expected to include men in our dating pool. 

That’s one heck of a big demand, and one which goes to the heart of lesbian erasure.

It was also wrong to say it was the ONLY difference. 

A strong argument was being made about the need for privacy, safety and dignity in spaces for women - toilets, hospital wards, prisons, sports teams etc. These are all essential. They are also situational - they’re needed at specific times for specific situations. If you need a pee, or when you’re in hospital. 

But I was concerned about lesbian space. Our right to simply exist in the world as lesbians. To have existential space, rather than situational spaces. Our need for lesbian-only space isn’t situational, it’s foundational. It impacts every aspect of our lives. 

My lesbian walking group doesn't need to be a “safe space”. We're not specially vulnerable. We just want the right to exist as a lesbian group, to be able to hang out with other lesbians

Reading the For Women Scotland judgments from the lower courts, I became increasingly convinced that the lesbian perspective needed to be heard, and that it could have a significant effect on the outcome. Whilst taking nothing from the brilliant work done by FWS, this argument was not part of their case. I realised that the only way to ensure that lesbians were fully visible, and heard, was to organise a lesbian intervention. So I did. 

Thank goodness. Because it was incredibly important in the final judgment. Many have said it was the lesbians wot won it. 

There was a key moment during the hearing when I knew - absolutely knew - we would win. They were discussing the right to have lesbian associations. You could literally see the judges’ minds boggle at the absurdity of a “transwoman” having to be treated as a man one day, but as a lesbian the next if he acquired a GRC. “The difference” said Lord Reed “is quite stark”. That's the moment I knew we'd won. And as Lady Simler pointed out, we aren’t allowed to see a GRC, meaning that in practice we would have to admit ALL men. And we have the wonderful lesbian barrister, Karon Monaghan to thank for the fact that lesbians aren't attracted to certificates is now written into UK case law. 

The judgment clarified that sexual orientation as well as sex is based on biological sex. This means we can assert we are same-sex attracted, and arrange our events and space independently of men. But Westminster, Holyrood and the Senedd have all been delaying and obstructing implementation of the law, as others have said.

There's a mixed message on what’s changed since the ruling. Lesbians undoubtedly feel more confident in everything from organising lesbian-only events, to being clear on sex when providing EDI training. Women now feel confident to refuse men access, or remove them from their lesbian groups, whereas before they lived in fear of being harassed, closed down, or even sued.  

More lesbian events are happening around the country, with at least some advertised more openly. As one woman said: “I can go about running a great group without feeling as though the sword of Damocles is hanging over my head.”

This positivity mainly comes from women who are already organising lesbian events. But there’s still a long way to go to overcome years of Stonewall law, misinformation, harassment and infiltration. Some women still feel it isn’t safe for lesbian events to exist, and that TRAs are allowed to threaten or shut them down.

Women face continuing difficulties with venues, and being told it’s illegal to run women-only or lesbian-only meetings. One woman was told this by her head of EDI. Another was told by a lesbian city councillor that council spaces could not be used for lesbian-only meetings.

Perhaps the worst example is an LGB - now LGBTQ+ - centre which allowed a man to join lesbian meetings. When some women asked that he be removed, the centre refused. So they asked to also have a separate, lesbian group. That too has been refused. 

We are also confronted by the problem of many so-called lesbian groups being “trans-inclusive” - i.e. mixed-sex - And they have no intention of going back to being single sex despite the ruling.

There is particular concern for young lesbians, especially because of the capture of the education sector. One woman told me her college holds an event for trans visibility day. But there’s no equivalent for lesbians. Another college refused to allow an LGB group to have a stall at its Rainbow Week, saying it had to “protect its students.”

Many organisations still have “dodgy” equalities policies. I’ve seen plenty that talk about gender or gender identity instead of sex, or are confused about sexual orientation. A lesbian member of the Green Party currently faces accusations of being a “transphobic bigoted right wing nazi” for proposing a motion on women’s rights which included a section on single sex spaces for lesbians.

We have never been included in discussions on policy, and that doesn't look like changing any time soon. Meanwhile people who have never previously shown the slightest interest in lesbian rights are suddenly overcome with concern that “butch” lesbians might be asked to leave women's toilets.  

I haven’t heard of any lesbian groups who have had funding yet. Several have applied and been refused, generally with the excuse that there’s been a lot of demand. So it’s difficult to know whether it’s because of transactivism or lesbophobia.

In conclusion, although the ruling has clarified our rights on paper, it’s still difficult to access them in practice. The Government's failure to implement the SC ruling continues to impede our ability to organise as lesbians and undermines our existential and foundational rights.

When it is finally published next month, we will be scrutinising the EHRC guidance to check it fully reflects the law to protect lesbian rights. We will accept nothing less.