Sex Matters, a charity advocating for single-sex rights, argues that the City of London Corporation, which manages the Heath, is breaching equality law by permitting trans women to swim there and use the women’s changing area.
The group will present its arguments to the High Court tomorrow (Wednesday), where a decision will be made on whether to grant permission for a full hearing.
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It filed a legal challenge in August over the decision to continue operating the men’s and women’s swimming ponds on the basis of gender self-identification.
The Supreme Court ruled in April that the definition of men and women under the Equality Act 2010 pertains to biological sex.
The court found that this did not include transgender women with gender recognition certificates.
This ruling means that these trans women can be excluded from single-sex spaces such as women’s refuges and changing rooms, if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, such as ensuring safety and privacy.
Sex Matters asserts that Kenwood Ladies’ Pond, an exclusive women’s swimming pool since 1926, should remain a single-sex, female-only space.
Its chief executive Maya Forstater said: “Women shouldn’t have to worry about whether a man in a women-only space is there for nefarious purposes or to affirm his womanly identity.
“In either case he is breaching her privacy and dignity.
“If permission is granted to proceed on Wednesday, this case will be significant as one of the first in which an organisation is defending a policy that defies the Supreme Court judgment on single-sex services.”
To substantiate its claim, Sex Matters has compiled the testimonies of women who express discomfort at encountering naked trans women in the changing area.
Allowing trans women to use female-only spaces, particularly when in full or partial nudity, is seen as a form of discrimination, it claims.
In the court documents, lawyers for Sex Matters argue: “There is clear evidence before the court that women experience or risk experiencing the presence of men in the space for the ladies’ pond as a violation of their dignity and privacy; as something that makes them feel vulnerable and at risk, and as something that interferes with their comfort and enjoyment.”
The Corporation launched a consultation in October proposing six potential ways of operating the ponds. These include retaining the status quo, running the men’s and women’s ponds as “strictly single-sex facilities”, or operating them as trans-inclusive spaces other than the communal toilets and changing rooms.
Corporation officer Andrew Impey told a Hampstead Heath consultative committee meeting last month that there were thousands of responses, and with three or four weeks to analyse the feedback and a series of focus groups, he did not expect a final report until January.
Sex Matters has also argued that most of the consultation options are unlawful based on the Supreme Court ruling. The City of London Corporation has said it is ‘disappointed’ Sex Matters is pursuing legal action while the consultation and review are under way.
A date for a final decision has not been finalised but is expected in January.
The corporation introduced its current policy in 2019 to allow transgender women access to the Ladies’ Pond.
The Kenwood Ladies’ Pond Association, which has around 900 members, voted in 2024 to retain its “trans-inclusive membership policy”.
