Edinburgh just came out in force against the Supreme Court’s roll-back of trans women’s rights

On Saturday 19 April, around 2,000 protesters turned out in Edinburgh against the UK Supreme Court’s roll-back of transgender women’s rights.

Members of the public marched from the foot of The Mound to the UK government building to rail against the disgraceful far-right-fueled ruling.

Supreme Court assault on trans people’s rights: protest in Edinburgh

Members of the community, including individuals from Resisting Transphobia in Edinburgh, organised the protest:

Together, gender queer communities and allies galvanised a highly energised crowd against the Supreme Court ruling. Throughout, the rhetoric was one of encouraging solidarity within the trans community, rather than begging the government for help. This included a call to autonomously establish sources of “Food, Housing, Medicine and Trans Joy”.

One protester, the poet Ellie Mental said:

This protest shows one thing more than any other; where they need to bus in a couple hundred to their fill out little hate meets, thousands organically show up to support us. where they need to utilise courts to enforce their bigotry, we have a real community at our backs. Where they have billionaires bankrolling their cruelty.

This was a reference to the American dark money used to fund many anti-trans organisations.

Mental continued that:

We rely on each other’s compassion and strength. for every step they push us back, we don’t falter. we stand firm. we push back. we’re not going anywhere.

Red, an ally who attended the protest, said:

As a cisgender woman and a survivor of sexual violence, I think the Supreme Court decision is an insult. It’s something that should frighten all of us, cis or trans. It’s done nothing to clarify anyone’s rights or protect anyone – all it does is legitimise the kind of blind bigotry that’s made it harder and harder for organisations supporting women and LGBTQ+ people to operate freely. Me and many others like me are out here protesting today because trans women’s rights are all of our rights. We’re all on the same side here and I’m sick of people who pretend to speak for me targeting my friends and family and making all of us less safe and more afraid. This ruling represents the wants of a tiny minority of bigoted, vindictive people – and we can’t let it stand unchallenged.

Supreme Court hostile to trans existence in Scotland and beyond

Many of those present feel that the UK parliament and Supreme Court has shown that they are actively hostile towards trans existence. The reason for this is that have repeatedly blocked Scotland’s cross-party efforts to reduce unnecessary legal burdens on trans people, and to bring legislation in line with international standards of human rights. Flyers distributed at the demonstration said:

We urge the people of Scotland to resist and ignore Wednesday’s verdict.

Cordially sharing the foot of the mound with street preachers celebrating Easter, protesters chanted “out of the clinics, into the streets”, “A, B, abolish the GIC”, and “you can shove your Supreme Court up your arse”. It proceeded along the road to the Queen Elizabeth House, where more speeches and chants took place.

Q is a scholar and trans activist who gave a speech during the rally who has organised in India, Ireland, and Scotland for over a decade on queer rights and inclusion, and sexual liberation for women, trans and lower caste communities. At the protest, Q said:

As the world slowly shifts into democratic backsliding, trans people have been weaponised into a distraction, where instead of addressing a housing crisis, poverty, homelessness, an underfunded NHS, care for the most vulnerable in our society, an ongoing genocide in Palestine, the murder of children and civilians using weapons manufactured in our country, on our soil, they choose instead to target, disenfranchise, and attack the 1% using flawed notions of biology and justice. But the politics of hate they are fuelled by separates them from us and our politics of warmth, hospitality, and care.

Solidarity and community that the ‘transphobes could never’

This last month has seen rapid organisation of the trans community in Scotland, with multiple protests and mutual aid organisations being established. In the face of adversity, the trans community is coming together in prefigurative solidarity in order to build powerful networks of support:

Leith-based writer Josie Giles said:

Today proved the enormous power of trans people’s collective organising. Together we have all the strength and skills we need to fight the powers that seek to exclude trans women from public life, and to seize what all oppressed people need: food, housing, medicine and a joyful life. Our liberation is workers’ liberation and women’s liberation. And trans people said it loud: Free Palestine!

Sam, an Edinburgh local, said:

Seeing people from literally every sort of local community I can think of made “Whose streets? Our streets” sound legit. The transphobes could never.

Featured image and additional images supplied