Lyne MP’s bid to amend legal definition of ‘woman’ and ‘man’

MEMBER for Lyne Alison Penfold has introduced a Private Member’s Bill to the Australian Parliament to amend the Sex Discrimination Act.

Ms Penfold wants the definitions of a man and woman to be based on biological sex, not self-identification.

In a statement before addressing fellow MPs and the media on Monday, Ms Penfold said, “The Parliament has a responsibility to provide clear legal protections for women and girls in Australian law.

“This would ensure [that] where there is a conflict, biological sex prevails.”

The introduction of the Bill follows the landmark Federal Court ruling on 15 May in the long-running case involving the app Giggle for Girls and transgender woman Roxanne Tickle.

In a unanimous decision, three judges ruled that the operators of the app, founded by Sall Grover, discriminated against Ms Tickle by excluding her from the women-only forum.

Equality Australia Legal Director Heather Corkhill said the court ruling was a win for both women and LGBTIQ+ people because it found that the concept of womanhood “is not to be understood by reference to any narrow or rigid conception of femaleness.”

In response to Ms Penfold’s Bill, she said it “would give sexism and misogyny a free pass while stripping trans women of basic protections.”

Ms Penfold said the presentation of her Bill so soon after the Federal Court ruling was a “coincidence” as it had been on the parliament’s Notice Paper for more than seven weeks.

However, she said the Giggle for Girls case shows that “the current law created by the Gillard Labor Government in 2013 was not fit for purpose”.

“Every Australian deserves dignity, safety and respect but women and girls deserve certainty that sex-based protections in law mean something in practice – on the sporting field, in women’s only gyms, on women-only online apps and in women’s prisons and domestic violence shelters.

“Sex is biological and binary and should not be ambiguous.”

The Bill also includes protections for female services, spaces and activities.

A copy can be found at alisonpenfold.com.au/protectingwomenandgirls.

By Sue STEPHENSON