The founder of the female-only Giggle for Girls app, Sall Grover, has vowed to take her legal battle to the High Court of Australia after losing a landmark gender discrimination case. The Federal Court dismissed her appeal on Friday and doubled the damages awarded to transgender woman Roxanne Tickle from $10,000 to $20,000, plus legal costs of up to $100,000.
Court Ruling and Reactions
Ms Grover described the ruling as a 'massive setback for women' and claimed it demonstrated 'ideological capture' within Australia's judiciary. 'Women are not defined in discrimination law at all. We are in a very scary situation where the court is accepting ideology over reality,' she said. The court found she had directly discriminated against Ms Tickle under the Sex Discrimination Act when she banned her from the app in September 2021, judging her to appear male in a selfie.
Legal Language Concerns
Ms Grover expressed alarm that the judgment used terms like 'cisgender' and 'transgender', which she said are not in Australian legislation but were brought in by activist language from the Australian Human Rights Commission. 'The law talks about gender identity, it doesn't talk about transgender or cisgender,' she argued. The appeal judgment also criticised her courtroom conduct for using male pronouns to refer to Ms Tickle, calling it 'gratuitous, disrespectful and unnecessary'.
Broader Implications
Ms Grover warned that the precedent set by the case could have 'disastrous' consequences for women's rights and free speech. She has the support of author J.K. Rowling. The Coalition has announced plans to amend the Sex Discrimination Act to protect women based on biological sex. Ms Grover also backs anti-trans campaigner Kirralie Smith, who is appealing a ruling to pay $95,000 for vilifying two trans women online.
Ms Grover now has 28 days to apply for a High Court appeal, which she says she will pursue 'until the bitter end'. She is also working to revive the Giggle app, even if it means renouncing her Australian citizenship. Ms Tickle said she hopes the outcome will 'assist trans and gender diverse people and their loved ones to heal'.
