Summary
Our urgent petition calls on trans people and allies to mobilize against a new draft code that implements a flawed court ruling, which threatens to strip UK trans people of their long-standing rights and social access.
Petition on restoring trans rights
The publication of the Draft Code on Services and Associations on Thursday, 21 May 2026, has brought into sharp focus the way in which the Supreme Court judgment in ‘For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers’ of April 2025 has interfered with the rights of trans people in the UK.
Link to Petition https://c.org/HTXK5MWMWX
The very poorly argued judgment in For Women Scotland contains a number of legal errors, no Human Rights analysis and ignores the clear will of parliament in enacting the Gender Recognition and Equality Acts to protect the rights of trans people as set out by the European Court of Human Rights in the Goodwin case.
Instead of putting this right, as they could with some very simple legislation, the UK government has permitted the Equality and Human Rights Commission to publish new guidance on the Equality Act, intended to implement the flawed decision in FWS.
This would leave trans people in exactly the ‘intermediate space’ that Goodwin said they should not occupy, at risk of being unable to participate in society, banned from spaces they have used without difficulty for decades. The UK is now one of the most trans-unfriendly nations in Europe, having previously been a leader in the field.
The guidance was published just as parliament rose for the May recess. We do not think that was by chance. If no active step is taken, the guidance will have legal force in a little over 30 days.
We call on all trans people, their allies, relatives and friends to sign and share this petition with all their might, to demonstrate to our legislators the support that trans people have in the UK to live their lives with dignity and respect.
We should say that we hoped this would have been a petition promoted via the UK parliamentary petitions arrangements, but the process to lodge a petition via that route takes around a month, and we need to show the support that trans people have much sooner than that.
Trans people need YOUR help. It only takes a few moments to sign the petition.
Petition on restoring trans rights reads
We call on parliament to:
- Reverse FWS v SM and restore to full effect the Equality Act 2010 and Gender Recognition Act 2004 provisions, which recognised the European Convention Rights of trans people.
- Reject the present draft Code of Practice and ensure UK law allows clear options for single-sex services and associations to be trans-inclusive.
- Ensure that trans people are enabled to play a full part in society as their genuine selves and examine how non-binary and intersex people can be included and protected.
Link to Petition https://c.org/HTXK5MWMWX
