(LifeSiteNews) — The organization overseeing Girl Guide groups in the U.K. has announced that transgender-identifying males can no longer join its female-only groups.
Girlguiding said the decision was made in response to the Supreme Court ruling, affirming that womanhood is defined by biological sex in law rather than self-identification.
READ: UK Supreme Court rules ‘woman’ means biological female
“From today (2 December) trans girls and young women, and others not recorded female at birth, will no longer be able to join Girlguiding as new young members,” the organization announced.
The trustees of Girlguiding said the “difficult decision” was made with a “heavy heart” and that further announcements regarding current members will be made. It remains unclear if current members who are gender-confused males will be affected. The organization said there will be no immediate changes for current members and that it does not collect data on “gender identity,” implying that it was not certain how many trans-identified members it had.
“This is a decision we would have preferred not to make, and we know that this may be upsetting for members of our community,” the trustees stated. “Girlguiding believes strongly in inclusion, and we will continue to support young people and adults in marginalised groups.”
Approximately 385,000 girls and young women, ranging in age from four to 18, are members of Brownies, Rainbows, Guides, and Rangers groups in the U.K.
Tammy Hymas, spokesperson for the pro-LGBT trans rights activist group TransActual, said: “It’s awful that an organisation, which would happily be inclusive and has been for many years, is being forced to exclude young trans girls.”
Meanwhile, women’s rights charity Sex Matters applauded Girlguiding for having done the “right thing.”
Sex Matters CEO Maya Forstater said, “Both girls and boys deserve to have opportunities for adventure and learning, and Girlguiding provides an organisation that is just for girls.”
In April, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous verdict that legally transgender “women” – i.e., men who claim to be female – are not women, since a woman is legally defined by “biological sex.”