An Australian court has delivered a groundbreaking judgement, determining that a female-exclusive app engaged in discrimination by removing a transgender woman from its platform.
On Friday, the Federal Court of Australia ruled that Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman from New South Wales, faced indirect gender discrimination when she was removed from the social networking app Giggle for Girls in 2021. In 2022, she initiated legal action against the platform and its creator, Sally Grover, alleging that her account was unlawfully deactivated due to gender identity discrimination after Grover reportedly reviewed her photo and categorised her as male.
First Case to Address Gender Identity Discrimination
Judge Robert Bromwich concluded that while Roxanne Tickle wasn’t a victim of direct discrimination, her indirect discrimination claim succeeded. The court determined that the Giggle App required users to present themselves as cisgender women. Consequently, the platform and its founder, Sally Grover, were instructed to provide $10,000 in damages and cover legal expenses. The judge, however, rejected the request for an apology, considering it both unsuitable and probably insincere.
This case was the first instance in which the Federal Court, Australia’s second-highest court, addressed gender identity discrimination under the amended Sex Discrimination Act, which was updated in 2013 to provide additional protections for sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex status. Following the ruling, Roxanne Tickle expressed that the outcome was a significant step toward healing, reflecting on the challenges faced by the transgender and gender-diverse community.
Grover’s Appeal Efforts
Sally Grover responded to the court ruling on social media, expressing disappointment but not surprise, while emphasising her continued advocacy for women’s rights. She has also initiated a fundraising campaign to support an appeal. Roxanne Tickle, who has been living as a woman since 2017 and underwent gender-affirming surgery in 2019, is legally recognized as female and is officially registered as a woman in Queensland.
Court’s Examination of Giggle’s Practices
The court found that Giggle required new users to upload a selfie, which would be reviewed by AI software to determine if they were female. Although the AI initially identified Roxanne Tickle as a woman when she joined in February 2021, she later discovered her access had been limited and eventually revoked. Tickle claimed that Sally Grover removed her after reviewing her photo, though the judge noted there was insufficient evidence to prove that the app’s founder knew Tickle’s identity or gender.
Judge Bromwich noted that while the evidence did not conclusively prove Roxanne Tickle was removed from Giggle because of her gender identity, it remained a plausible but unverified explanation. He further highlighted that by the time of the trial, Sally Grover’s stance on sex and gender was evident. When questioned about whether she would recognize a transgender woman as female after medical transition and legal recognition, Grover expressed that she would not consider that person a woman.
Grover’s Controversial Testimony and Judge’s Critique of Courtroom Conduct
During cross-examination, Sally Grover asserted that she made no distinction between individuals assigned male at birth, even after they transitioned to become transgender women, referring to them as male. Judge Bromwich also criticised her behaviour in the trial, particularly when she laughed at a derogatory portrayal of Roxanne Tickle while testifying. He dismissed her justification that the laughter was related to the courtroom setting, labelling it as insincere and noting that it was inappropriate, demeaning, and irrelevant to the defence’s case.
