Equality Act Twist Blows Up Policy

A wooden gavel next to a heart-shaped transgender pride flag

Scotland’s highest civil court just ruled that biological males cannot be held in women’s prisons — a landmark legal victory that exposes how far the Scottish National Party went to keep a policy that even the UK’s own equality watchdog called “highly likely” unlawful.

Story Highlights

Scotland’s Court of Session issued a landmark ruling declaring the Scottish Prison Service’s transgender placement policy unlawful under the Equality Act 2010.
The UK Supreme Court ruled in April 2025 that “sex” under equality law means biological sex — a precedent the Scottish National Party tried to work around.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission warned that placing biological males in women’s prisons destroys the legal status of single-sex facilities.
The Scottish National Party secretly sought to amend the Equality Act to preserve its policy, even as the court case was underway.

A Ruling the SNP Fought Hard to Avoid

Scotland’s Court of Session — the country’s highest civil court — has declared the Scottish Prison Service’s transgender prisoner policy unlawful. The group For Women Scotland brought the case, arguing that the policy broke the law by allowing biological males into women’s prisons. The ruling follows the UK Supreme Court’s April 2025 decision, which confirmed that “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex — not gender identity. ^[1]

The Scottish Prison Service had placed transgender prisoners based on individual risk checks. Under that system, a biological male could be housed in a women’s prison if staff decided he posed no unacceptable risk to female inmates. ^[4] For Women Scotland said that approach directly contradicted the Supreme Court’s ruling and put vulnerable women in danger.

Equality Watchdog: This Policy Was Already Illegal

The Equality and Human Rights Commission made its position clear during the court proceedings. A representative for the commission argued that after the Supreme Court ruling, any prison housing biological males alongside biological females could no longer call itself a single-sex facility. That means it loses legal protections against discrimination claims. The commission also warned that the policy could open the door to any man demanding a transfer to a women’s prison. ^[9]

A confidential Equality and Human Rights Commission code of practice, reviewed by The Times, went even further. It stated that access to single-sex facilities must be based on biological sex. It also warned that allowing biological males into women’s spaces is “very likely” to constitute unlawful sex discrimination against the women who use those spaces. ^[2] Oxford University law professor Michael Foran said the code made it “unmistakably clear” that you cannot run a women’s prison while admitting biological males.

SNP Fought the Law — and the Law Won

The Scottish National Party did not go down without a fight. The party argued in court that a blanket rule — housing all transgender prisoners by biological sex — would violate their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. Ministers called For Women Scotland’s petition “irrelevant” and asked the court to dismiss it. ^[5] Two equality watchdogs, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Scottish Human Rights Commission, also raised concerns about the policy’s lack of clarity. ^[7]

Scottish Court Rules Against Biological Males Being Held in Women’s Prisons
There is a major ruling in Scotland where a court declared that it is generally unlawful to house a transgender biological male in a women’s prison. The decision follows the ruling of the top UK court…

— bronxboy1 (@bronxboy1) June 21, 2026

Behind the scenes, the Scottish National Party went even further. The Telegraph reported that the party made a secret push to amend the Equality Act itself — trying to rewrite the law so its policy could survive. ^[5] That effort failed. The court sided with For Women Scotland and common sense. Women’s prisons must now be exactly what the name says: for biological women only. This ruling is a win for women’s safety, legal clarity, and the principle that words — including “woman” — still mean something.