In a landmark decision on gender identity in Australia, a court ruled that removing transgender woman Roxanne Tickle from the female-only social networking platform Giggle for Girls constituted discrimination. Tickle sued the app and its founder Sally Grover for unlawful gender identity discrimination, claiming her account was revoked after Grover considered her to be male. The Federal Court ordered Giggle for Girls to pay Tickle A$10,000 plus legal costs, but did not order a written apology as requested. This is the first ruling on gender identity discrimination by the Federal Court since changes to the Sex Discrimination Act in 2013.
The court found that while Tickle’s claim of direct gender identity discrimination failed, her claim of indirect discrimination succeeded. The ruling sends a clear message that it is unlawful to treat transgender women differently from cisgender women in Australia. Giggle for Girls, marketed as a safe space for women, had some 20,000 users but suspended operations in 2022 and is set to be relaunched soon.
Judge Robert Bromwich noted that Giggle for Girls considered only sex at birth as a valid basis for identifying as a man or woman. Tickle, who was assigned male at birth, had undergone gender-affirming surgery and updated her birth certificate. Grover expressed disappointment with the ruling, while Tickle called it healing and spoke out against the hate and discrimination faced by transgender and gender diverse individuals.
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