We the undersigned film and television professionals stand in solidarity with the trans, non-binary, and intersex communities who have been impacted by the Supreme Court ruling on April 17th. We wish to add our voices to the 2000+ signatories of the Open Letter from UK Writers to the Trans Community published last week, and call upon members of our industry and cultural bodies to join us.  

The Supreme Court’s ruling that, under the Equality Act, ‘woman’ is defined by biological sex, states that “the concept of sex is binary, a person is either a woman or a man”. We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary, and intersex people living in the UK.

The Equalities & Human Rights Commission’s interim update on the ruling states that trans women are not permitted access to women’s facilities and trans men are not permitted access to men’s facilities, while further suggesting that trans people may also be excluded from using facilities that correspond to their biological sex. We believe this guidance exposes trans people to embarrassment and harassment, and excludes them from participation in public life.

We stand with the many women, including Labour MP Kate Osborne and Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer, who have condemned both the ruling and the EHRC guidance. We applaud them for highlighting the negative consequences that both will have for all women, and the harm that trans and gender nonconforming people face as a result. 

The UK film and television industry is at the forefront of cultural change. In recent years we have come together in response to the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements to reflect upon our working practices and uplift a broad spectrum of voices in our society. We must now urgently work to ensure that our trans, non-binary, and intersex colleagues, collaborators and audiences are protected from discrimination and harassment in all areas of the industry - whether on set, in a production office, or at a cinema. 

We applaud Equity’s response to the Supreme Court ruling and commitment to its trans members, and call upon our cultural institutions, including Bectu, BAFTA, BFI, Directors UK, Picturehouse, BBC, Writers Guild and Channel 4, to join us in condemning the Supreme Court ruling by using their public platforms to make meaningful commitments to protecting trans, non-binary, and intersex members, talent, and staff from discrimination within their respective organisations.  

Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds. This is our opportunity to be on the right side of history.

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To view the Deadline article on the letter, click here.

To view the letter and the complete list of signatories, click here. Please note that signatures are added manually and will not appear immediately.